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dharmd:N-IengTITLE.pm5 5Since the publication of the book “Irrigation Engineering”, the author has been receivingsuggestions to include a chapter on ‘Hydrology’ as, at many institutions in the country, Hydrol-ogy is being taught as part of the course on either ‘Irrigation and Water Resources Engineering’or ‘Water Resources Engineering’. While the major contents of this book remain the same asthat of the book “Irrigation Engineering”, significant additions and revisions have been made inalmost all chapters of the book. Besides an additional chapter on Hydrology, other significantadditions are : (i) detailed environmental aspects for water resource projects, (ii) operation,maintenance, and evaluation of canal irrigation systems, (iii) note on interlinking of rivers inIndia, and (iv) design problems of hydraulic structures such as guide bunds, settling basin etc.Recent developments in Hydraulic Engineering related to Irrigation and Water Resources En-gineering have been incorporated in the text. Accordingly, the book “Irrigation Engineering”has now been retitled as “Irrigation and Water Resources Engineering”.It is hoped that the book, in its present form, will be more useful to the undergraduatestudents of Civil Engineering (and also, to some extent, graduate students of Water ResourcesEngineering as well), and the practicing engineers dealing with water resources.The author would like to sincerely appreciate the efforts of the learned authors as well asthe publishers of the referenced literature. The author has been immensely benefited by hisassociation with his colleagues at IIT Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee) who have beenassociated with the teaching and research in the field of Water Resources Engineering. In par-ticular, however, the author would like to express his sincere thanks to Dr. K.G. Ranga Raju(who reviewed the original manuscript of “Irrigation Engineering”) and Dr. B.S. Mathur whoreviewed the chapter on “Hydrology”.The forbearance of my wife Savi and sons Anshul and Manish during the period I wasbusy writing the manuscript of this book is heartily appreciated.The staffs of the publishers of the book deserve all praise for their nice jobs of printingand publishing the book.Suggestions from readers of the book are welcome.G.L. ASAWAApril, 2005PREFACE

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1.1. IRRIGATIONThree basic requirements of agricultural production are soil, seed, and water. In addition,fertilisers, insecticides, sunshine, suitable atmospheric temperature, and human labour arealso needed. Of all these, water appears to be the most important requirement of agriculturalproduction. The application of water to soil is essential for plant growth and it serves thefollowing functions (1):(i) It supplies moisture to the soil essential for the germination of seeds, and chemicaland bacterial processes during plant growth.(ii) It cools the soil and the surroundings thus making the environment more favourablefor plant growth.(iii) It washes out or dilutes salts in the soil.(iv) It softens clods and thus helps in tillage operations.(v) It enables application of fertilisers.(vi) It reduces the adverse effects of frost on crops.(vii) It ensures crop success against short-duration droughts.In several parts of the world, the moisture available in the root-zone soil, either fromrain or from underground waters, may not be sufficient for the requirements of the plant life.This deficiency may be either for the entire crop season or for only part of the crop season. Foroptimum plant growth, therefore, it becomes necessary to make up the deficiency by addingwater to the root-zone soil. This artificial application of water to land for supplementing thenaturally available moisture in the root-zone soil for the purpose of agricultural production istermed irrigation.Irrigation water delivered into the soil is always more than the requirement of the cropfor building plant tissues, evaporation, and transpiration. In some cases the soil may be naturallysaturated with water or has more water than is required for healthy growth of the plant. Thisexcess water is as harmful to the growth of the plant as lack of water during critical stages ofthe plant life. This excess water can be naturally disposed of only if the natural drainagefacilities exist in or around the irrigated area. In the absence of natural drainage, the excesswater has to be removed artificially. The artificial removal of the excess water is termeddrainagewhich, in general, is complementary to irrigation.To keep the optimum content of water in soil, irrigation supplies water to the landwhere water is deficient and drainage withdraws water from the land where water is in excess.The object of providing irrigation and drainage is to assist nature in maintaining moisture inthe root-zone soil within the range required for maximum agricultural production. Usefulnessand importance of irrigation can be appreciated by the fact that without irrigation, it wouldhave been impossible for India to have become self-sufficient in food with such huge population11dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 1INTRODUCTION

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2 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 2to feed. Primary source of prosperity in Punjab is irrigation. Irrigation from the Nile is thesource of food, life, and prosperity in Egypt. Similarly, without drainage, large parts of theNetherlands and the coastal regions of several countries would always be under water.Irrigation schemes can be broadly grouped into two main categories: (i) surface waterirrigation schemes, and (ii) ground water irrigation schemes. The former use diversion andstorage methods and obtain their supplies from rivers. Ground water irrigation schemes useopen wells, and deep and shallow tube wells to lift water from the water-bearing strata belowthe earth’s surface. The choice of an irrigation scheme depends on several factors, such assurface topography, rainfall characteristics, type of source available, subsoil profile, etc. Oneshould, however, always plan to use surface and ground waters together to derive maximumbenefits. Such use is termed conjunctive use of surface and ground waters.In India, the sites for diversion structures without storage potential from major riversystems are now difficult to find. Therefore, further use of surface water has to be throughstorage methods only. India is not blessed with really good storage sites, particularly in theHimalayas, as can be noted from Table 1.1 which gives the storage for some major dams in theHimalayas as well as in other parts of the world.Table 1.1 Storage of some major dams (2)Dam Height (m) Storage (million cubic metres)Bhakra (India) 226 11,320Kishau (India, projected) 244 1,980Tehri (India, projected) 260 3,550Hoover (U.S.A.) 222 38,600High Aswan (Egypt) 97 156,0001.2. IMPACT OF IRRIGATION ON HUMAN ENVIRONMENTThe main impact of irrigation is in terms of the increased agricultural yield which, in turn,affects social, cultural, economic, political and other aspects of human environment (Table1.2)Table 1.2 Impact of irrigation on human environment (3)Impact Positive NegativeImprovement of the water regime ofirrigated soils.Improvement of the micro climate.Possibility provided for waste wateruse and disposal.Retention of water in reservoirs andpossible multipurpose use thereof.Danger of waterlogging andsalination of soils, rise in groundwater table.Changing properties of water inreservoirs. Deforestation of areawhich is to be irrigated and with it achange of the water regime in thearea. Reservoir bank abrasion.Engineering(Contd...)

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INTRODUCTION 3dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 3Securing increased agriculturalproduction and thus improving thenutrition of the population.Recreation facilities in irrigationcanals and reservoirs.Culturing the area. Increasing thesocial and cultural level of thepopulation. Tourist interest in thearea of the newly-built reservoir.New man-made lakes in the area.Increased self-sufficiency in food, thuslesser dependence on other countries.Possible spread of diseases ensuingfrom certain types of surfaceirrigation.Danger of the pollution of waterresources by return runoff fromirrigation. Possible infection by wastewater irrigation, new diseases causedby retention of water in largereservoir.Colonisation of the irrigated area.Displacement of population fromretention area. Necessity of protectingcultural monuments in inundatedareas.Project’s architecture may not blendwith the area.HealthSocial and CulturalAestheticPoliticalDhawan (4) has compared average foodgrain yields from unirrigated and irrigated landsin respect of four states of India (Table 1.3). This comparison clearly shows the marked increasein the average yield on account of irrigation. Irrigation is responsible for about 55 per cent offood production in India (4). Increased agricultural production, besides adding to the nationaleconomy, reduces rural poverty and substitutes for imports and generates exports of food andnon-food agricultural products. It generates additional employment in the main agriculturalactivity and also in related activities like input supply, processing, marketing, etc.Besides the gains in agricultural production, there are significant permanent gains inthe livelihood of the rural population. These can be grouped into the following four headings(5):(i) Employment and income(ii) Security against impoverishment(iii) Migration(iv) Quality of lifeTable 1.3 Comparison of average foodgrain yields for unirrigatedand irrigated lands (4)State Period Yield, Tonnes/HectareUnirrigated IrrigatedTubewell Canal TankPunjab 1977–79 1.08 5.46 3.24 –1963–65 0.75 3.06 1.18 –1950–51 0.37 1.75 0.94 –Haryana 1977–79 0.38 5.74 2.39 –Impact Positive Negative(Contd...)

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4 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 4Andhra Pradesh 1977–79 0.42 5.69 3.43 1.961957–59 0.47 3.11 2.27 1.35Tamil Nadu 1977–79 0.49 6.53 2.60 2.331964–66 0.61 4.00 2.14 2.081956–58 0.66 3.78 1.69 1.86Average 0.58 4.35 2.21 1.92Reliable and adequate irrigation is known to raise the employment. According to somefield studies, increases in working days per hectare with irrigation compared with rainfedconditions have been 61 per cent (on the Dantiwara canal project in Gujarat) to as high as 150per cent in Ferozepur, Punjab (4). As a result, production as well as incomes are generallystable at higher levels.Due to the assured employment and higher incomes spaced over the entire year, thereis added security against impoverishment. Therefore, the need for having dependentrelationships with moneylenders and employers as well as the dangers of having to dispose ofassets like land to buy food or meet debts is much less.Another beneficial aspect of irrigation is that it stops exodus and attracts people to theregion. Therefore, hardships associated with split families are avoided and a more stable andsettled family life results.Irrigation influences the quality of life. One major effect is the increase in prosperitywhich must improve the nutrition intake and resistance of the people against disease. Theprosperity, in its wake, does bring some evils such as dowry, drug habits, etc. But, these evilscan be eradicated through education and social welfare programmes. In addition to the above-mentioned gains in agricultural production and livelihood of rural population, irrigation alsoprovides protection against famine and increases the quality of agricultural yields. Othersecondary benefits of irrigation projects, such as hydroelectric power generation, use of canalsfor inland navigation, domestic water supply, and improvement in communication systemsalso affect the human environment in a favourable manner.There can, however, be adverse effects too. The adverse effects are mainly in the form ofwaterborne and water-related diseases and waterlogged saline lands.1.3 WATER RESOURCES OF INDIAIndia, with a geographical area of 329 Mha (million hectares), is blessed with large river basinswhich have been divided into 12 major (see Table 1.4) and 48 medium river basins comprising252.8 Mha and 24.9 Mha of total catchment area, respectively (6). It possesses about 4 per centof the total average annual runoff of the rivers of the world. The per capita water availabilityof natural runoff is, however, only 2200 cubic metre per year which is about one-third of theper capita water availability in USA and Japan (6). The per capita water availability in Indiawould further decrease with ever-increasing population of the country.State Period Yield, Tonnes/HectareUnirrigated IrrigatedTubewell Canal Tank

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INTRODUCTION 5dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 5Table 1.4 River basins of India (6)Sl. No. Name (Origin) Length Catchment Water ResourceArea Potential (in cubic km)(km) (sq. km) Average Utilisable UtilisedAnnual Surface SurfaceWater Water(1989)MAJOR BASINS1. Indus (Mansarovar) 1114 321289 73.31 46.00 40.002. (a) Ganga (Gangotri) 2525 861452 525.02 250.00 –(b) Brahmaputra 916 236136 597.04 24.00 –(Kailash)3. Sabarmati (Aravalli) 371 21674 4.08 1.93 1.804. Mahi (Dhar, MP) 583 34842 11.83 3.10 2.505. Narmada 1312 98796 41.27 34.50 8.00(Amarkantak, MP)6. Tapi (Betul, MP) 724 65145 18.39 14.50 –7. Brahmani (Ranchi) 799 39033 36.23 18.30 –8. Mahanadi (Nazri, MP) 851 141589 66.88 49.99 17.009. Godavari (Nasik) 1465 312812 118.98 76.30 38.0010. Krishna 1401 258948 67.79 58.00 47.00(Mahabaleshwar)11. Pennar (Kolar) 597 55213 6.86 6.74 5.0012. Cauvery (Coorg) 800 81155 21.36 19.00 18.00MEDIUM BASINS – 248505 289.94 87.65 –Grand Total 2776589 1878.98 690.01The annual precipitation in the country is estimated at about 4000 cubic km (6). Thisamount includes snow precipitation as well. As per the assessment of Central Water Commission(CWC), the average annual runoff of various river basins in the country is about 2333 cubic kmtreating both surface and ground waters as one system. More than eighty (for Himalayanrivers) to ninety (for peninsular rivers) per cent of the annual runoff occurs during monsoonmonths. Because of this fact and other constraints, it is assessed that the total average annualpotential of water available in India is about 1880 cubic km (see Table 1.4) out of which onlyabout 1140 cubic km of water can be put to beneficial use by conventional methods ofdevelopment of water resources.The basinwise average annual potential, estimated utilisable surface water, and actualutilised surface water (1989) are shown in Table 1.4. Utilisable ground water is estimated atabout 450 cubic km out of which about 385 cubic km is utilisable for irrigation alone (see Table1.5). The primary uses of water include irrigation, hydro-electric power generation, inlandwater transport, and domestic and industrial uses including inland fish production. Table 1.6indicates the amount of utilization of water in 1985 and the projected demands of water forvarious purposes in the year 2025.

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INTRODUCTION 9dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 9Table 1.9 Navigable length (in km) of important river systems in India (6)Sl. No. River System Navigable LengthBy Boats By Steamers1. Ganga 3355 8532. Brahmaputra 1020 7473. Rivers of West Bengal 961 7844. Rivers of Orissa 438 425. Godavari 3999 –6. Krishna 101 –7. Narmada 177 488. Tapti 24 24Total 10075 2498Inland water transport is the cheapest mode of transport for bulk cargo. In view of this,the following ten waterways have been identified for consideration to be declared as NationalWaterways (6):(i) The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hoogli(ii) The Brahmaputra(iii) The Mandavi Zuari river and the Cumbarjua canal in Goa.(iv) The Mahanadi(v) The Godavari(vi) The Narmada(vii) The Sunderbans area(viii) The Krishna(ix) The Tapti(x) The West Coast canal1.4 NEED OF IRRIGATION IN INDIAThe rainfall in India is very erratic in its spatial as well as temporal variations. Theaverage annual rainfall for India has been estimated at 1,143 mm which varies from 11,489mm around Cherrapunji in Assam (with the maximum one-day rainfall equal to 1040 mm) to217 mm around Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Besides, 75% to 90% of the annual rainfall occursduring 25 to 60 rainy days of the four monsoon months from June to September (2). In addition,there is also a large variation from year to year, the coefficient of variation being more than20% for most parts of the country (2).Erratic behaviour of the south-west monsoon is the main cause of India’s frequentdroughts (Table 1.10) and floods. The recent proposal (Appendix–1) of the Government of Indiaon interlinking of some major rivers of the country is aimed at (i) increasing the utilizablecomponent of the country’s water resources, and (ii) solving the problems of shortages andexcesses of water in some parts of the country. Table 1.11 shows the values of the approximateprobability of deficient rainfall (deficiency equal to or greater than 25 per cent of the normal)for different regions (8). Dependability of rainfall is thus rather low from the agriculture pointof view and storage is essential to sustain crops during non-monsoon periods and also to provide

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10 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 10water for irrigation during years of low rainfall. For a large part of any crop season, theevapotranspiration (i.e., the water need of a crop) exceeds the available precipitation andirrigation is necessary to increase food and fibre production. About 45 per cent of agriculturalproduction in India is still dependent on natural precipitation. The need and importance ofirrigation in India can be appreciated from the mere fact that the country would need to produce277 million tonnes (against the production of about 185 million tonnes for 1994-95) of food tomeet the per capita requirement of 225 kg (i.e., about one-fourth of a tonne) per year for anestimated population of 1,231 million in the year 2030 (8).Table 1.10 Frequency of droughts in India (7)Quarter 1801–25 1826–50 1851–75 1876–1900 1901–25 1926–50 1951–75 1976–2000CenturyDrought 01,04,06 32,33 53,60,62 77,91 01,04,05 39,41 51,65,66 79,82Years 12,19,25 37 66,68,73 99 07,11,13 68,72,74 85,8715,18,2025Frequency 6 3 6 3 10 2 6 4of drougtsTable 1.11 Periodicity of droughts in different regions (8)Region Recurrence of the periodof deficient rainfallAssam Very rare, once in 15 yearsWest Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Konkan,Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,Kerala, Bihar, Orissa Once in 5 yearsSouth interior Karnataka, eastern Uttar Pradesh,Vidarbha Once in 4 yearsGujarat, eastern Rajasthan, western Uttar Pradesh,Tamil Nadu, Kashmir, Rayalaseema, Telengana Once in 4 yearsWestern Rajasthan Once in 2½ yearsIn addition, the export of agricultural products earns a major part of foreign exchange.Because of vastly different climate in different parts of the country, a variety of crops areproduced in India. The country exports basmati rice, cotton, fruits (mango, apple, grapes,banana etc.), vegetables (potato, tomato etc.), flowers (rose etc.), and processed food productsin order to earn precious foreign exchange. Still further, about seventy per cent of the country’spopulation is employed in agricultural sector and their well-being, therefore, primarily dependson irrigation facilities in the country.1.5 DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION IN INDIAAmong Asian countries, India has the largest arable land which is close to 40 per cent of Asia’sarable land (6). Only USA has more arable land than India. Irrigation has been practisedthroughout the world since the early days of civilization. In India too, water conservation for

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INTRODUCTION 11dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 11irrigation has received much attention since the beginning of civilization. The Grand Anicutacross the river Cauvery was built in the second century. At the beginning of the 19th century,there were a large number of water tanks in peninsular India and several inundation canals innorthern India. The Upper Ganga canal, the Upper Bari Doab canal and the Krishna andGodavari delta systems were constructed between 1836 and 1866. The famines of 1876–78,1897–98 and 1899–1900 led to the setting up of the first Irrigation Commission in 1901 toascertain the usefulness of irrigation as a means of protection against famine and to assessthe extent of irrigation development required and the scope for further irrigation work. At thistime (1901) the total gross irrigated area was only 13.3 Mha which increased to 22.6 Mha in1950 as a result of a spurt in protective irrigation schemes (8).The Bengal famine of 1943 underlined the urgency of increasing agricultural productionto meet the needs of the growing population. After independence, the country began an era ofplanned development starting with the first five-year plan in 1951. The Planning Commissionassigned a very high priority to irrigation development for increasing agricultural production.Giant projects like the Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud, Damodar Valley, Nagarjunasagar, Rajasthancanal, etc. were taken up. This resulted in a great spurt in irrigation development activitiesand the irrigated area increased from 22.6 Mha in 1950–51 to 68 Mha in 1986–87. In June1993, the irrigated area was 83.48 Mha i.e., 2.39 Mha more than that in June 1992. The year-wise development of irrigation potential in India since 1950–51 and up to 1994–95 is shownplotted in Fig. 1.1. The present food grain production is slightly more than 200 million tonnes.1950-5160-6168-6973-7480-8184-8589-9092-9393-9494-95801006040200Irrigationpotential(M.Ha)250200150100500Foodgrainproduction(Milliontonnes)87.8858376.567.556.644.137.12922.650.88294104.6109.7145.5171179.5 182190YearFig. 1.1 Development of irrigation potential and production of food grains in India

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12 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 12The total ultimate irrigation potential is estimated (6) at 115.54 Mha (see Table 1.12 forstatewise distribution) of which 58.47 Mha would be from major and medium irrigation schemesand the remaining from minor irrigation schemes (6).1.6. MAJOR AND MEDIUM IRRIGATION SCHEMES OF INDIAMajor irrigation schemes are those which have culturable command area (C.C.A.)* more than10,000 ha. Irrigation schemes having C.C.A. between 2,000 and 10,000 ha are classed as mediumirrigation schemes (8). The important schemes of the first two plan periods include Bhakra-Nangal, Rajasthan canal, Gandhi Sagar dam, Gandak, Kosi, Nagarjunasagar, Hirakud,Tungabhadra, Malaprabha, and Ghatprabha projects. Later, the multipurpose Beas project,Ramganga dam and canals, Sri Ramsagar, Jayakwadi, Ukai, Kadana, Sardar Sarovar, Tawa,Teesta, etc. were taken up for utilising the monsoon waters.The performance of major and medium irrigation schemes was examined by the NationalIrrigation Commission (1972), the National Commission on Agriculture (1976), and severalother committees. It was found that the available irrigation potential was not fully utilised.The difference between the available and utilised irrigation potential exceeds 4.0 Mha.Waterlogging and salinity damaged large areas. Moreover, the return in terms of increasedagricultural production was far below the expectations. For all these deficiencies, the followingcauses were identified (8).(i) Need for modernisation of the pre-Plan and early-Plan systems to provide water atthe outlet delivery points to farmers at the right time and in the right quantity.(ii) Lack of adequate drainage resulting in waterlogging conditions due to excess waterused in irrigating crops as well as due to soil characteristics.(iii) The absence of a distribution system within the outlet and the non-introduction ofrotational distribution of water to the farmers.(iv) Inadequate attention to land consolidation, levelling and all other aspects which canpromote a better on-farm management of water.(v) Lack of anticipatory research on optimum water use, particularly in black soils withconsiderable moisture retention capacity.(vi) Lack of suitable infrastructure and extension services.(vii) Poor coordination between the concerned Government organisations in the commandareas.Irrigation projects constructed prior to 1965 were designed to meet the irrigation demandof traditional crops. With the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds since 1965, many of theearlier projects became inadequate to meet the exacting demands for water in respect of high-yielding varieties of crops.Modernisation of the old irrigation systems listed in Table 1.13 has, therefore, becomenecessary (8). The weaknesses in the old structures, adequate capacity of the canals to copewith the latest cropping patterns, deficiencies in the control structure system, causes of heavy* Gross command area of an irrigation system is the total area which can be economically irrigatedfrom the system without considering the limitations of the quantity of available water. Area of thecultivable land in the gross command of an irrigation system is called the culturable command area(C.C.A.). For more details, see Sec. 5.2.

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INTRODUCTION 15dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 15Ranbir and Pratap canals in Jammu and Kashmir, Hirakud and Mahanadi Delta in Orissa,and Krishna Delta in Andhra Pradesh. According to the estimates of the National Commissionon Agriculture (1976), a total area of about 6 Mha is waterlogged (8).1.7. MINOR IRRIGATIONMinor irrigation schemes include all ground water and surface water irrigation (flow as wellas lift) projects having culturable command area up to 2000 ha. Minor surface water flowirrigation projects include storage and diversion works and are the only means of irrigation inseveral drought-prone tracts such as undulating areas south of the Vindhyas and also hillyregions. Such projects offer considerable opportunity for rural employment and also help inrecharging the meagre resources of ground water in the hard rock areas. When available surfacewater cannot be used for irrigation through construction of flow irrigation schemes due totopographical limitations, surface water lift irrigation schemes provide the solution.Ground water is widely distributed and provides an instant and assured source ofirrigation to farmers. It improves the status of irrigation supply and helps in controllingwaterlogging and salinisation in the command area of a canal. Ground water development isthe major activity of the minor irrigation programme. It is mainly a cultivator’s own programmeimplemented primarily through individual and cooperative efforts. Finance for suchprogrammes are arranged through institutional sources. The first large-scale venture inscientific planning and development of ground water was initiated in India in 1934 when aproject for the construction of about 1,500 tubewells in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the Meerutregion of Uttar Pradesh was undertaken. Adequate energy for pumping ground water is essentialfor near-normal production of crops when there is severe drought. Hence, energy managementis also essential. Besides electricity and diesel, biogas-operated pumps need to be popularised.The use of solar energy through photovoltaic systems will, probably, be the ultimate solutionto the energy problem. Wind energy should also be tapped in desert, coastal and hilly regions.1.8. COMMAND AREA DEVELOPMENTThe irrigation potential created by the construction of a large number of major and mediumirrigation projects has more than doubled since independence. However, the available irrigationpotential has always been under-utilized and the optimum benefits by way of increasedproduction have not been fully realised. Several studies have been made to analyse the reasonsfor inefficient and continued under-utilisation of available irrigation potential and unsatisfactoryincrease in agricultural production in irrigated areas. The Second Irrigation Commission andthe National Commission on Agriculture recommended an integrated command areadevelopment programme for optimising benefits from available irrigation potential. Theobjectives of the programme were as follows (9):(i) Increasing the area of irrigated land by proper land development and water man-agement.(ii) Optimising yields by adopting the best cropping pattern consistent with the avail-ability of water, soil, and other local conditions.(iii) Bringing water to the farmer’s field rather than only to the outlets and thus assuringequitable distribution of water and adequate supply to tailenders.(iv) Avoiding wastage and misuse of water.(v) Optimising the use of scarce land and water resources, including ground water whereavailable, in conjunction with necessary inputs and infrastructure.

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16 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 16The command area development programme is a series of coordinated measures foroptimising the benefits from the irrigated agriculture. Some of these measures are (8):(i) Scientific crop planning suited to local soil and climatic conditions.(ii) Consolidation of holdings and levelling/shaping of lands.(iii) Provision of field channels to ensure equitable distribution of water to the farmer’sfield.(iv) Ensuring the supply of other inputs (good quality seeds, fertilisers, etc.).(v) Construction of rural roads, markets, storages, and other infrastructural facilities inthe command areas of irrigation projects.The Second Irrigation Commission (10) stressed the need for a programme of integratedcommand area development involving cooperative efforts among the State Departments ofIrrigation, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Community Development, Finance and PublicWorks and other institutions like Agriculture Refinance Corporation, Land Development Banks,Commercial Banks, etc. The commission suggested the formation of a special administrativeagency for the coordinated and expeditious development of command areas under major andmedium irrigation projects. The functions of such agencies would be to assign tasks to variousdepartments and institutional organisations to enforce coordination among them and to ensurethe implementation of the agreed programme. As a result, in 1973, State Governments wererequested to set up Command Area Development Authorities for 50 irrigation projects in thecountry.In December 1974, the formation of a Central Sector Scheme for Command AreaDevelopment Programme in selected irrigated commands was approved by the Governmentof India. This programme included the following components (8) :(i) Modernisation and efficient operation of the irrigation system.(ii) Development of a main drainage system beyond the farmer’s blocks of 40 ha.(iii) Construction of field channels and field drains.(iv) Land shaping/levelling and consolidation of holdings.(v) Lining of field channels/watercourses.(vi) Exploitation of ground water and installation of tubewells.(vii) Adoption and enforcement of a suitable cropping pattern.(viii) Enforcement of an appropriate rostering system on irrigation.(ix) Preparation of a plan for the supply of key inputs like credit, seeds, fertilisers, pesti-cides, and implements.(x) Making arrangements for timely and adequate supply of various inputs.(xi) Strengthening of existing extension, training, and demonstration organisations.The National Commission on Agriculture emphasised the need for development of landin the command area in an integrated manner comprising the following actions (8):(i) Layout of plots and of common facilities like watercourses, field channels, drains andfarm roads.(ii) Consolidation of farmers’ scattered plots into one or two operational holdings.(iii) Construction of watercourses and field channels.(iv) Construction of field drains where necessary and linking them with connecting drains.

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INTRODUCTION 17dharmd:N-IengEgg1-1.pm5 17(v) Provision of farm roads.(vi) Land formation to suitable slopes.(vii) Introduction of the ‘warabandi’ system for rotational distribution of water.For future irrigation projects, the National Commission on Agriculture suggested thatthe project report should be prepared in the following three parts (8):Part I: All engineering works from source of supply to outlets, including drains.Part II: All engineering works in the command area comprising land levelling and shaping,construction of watercourses, lined or unlined field channels, field drains, and farmroads.Part II: All other items pertaining to agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, communica-tions, and cooperation.Upto 1985, 102 projects covering an ultimate irrigation potential of 16.5 Mha has beenincluded in Command Area Development Authorities (CADA) (11). In financial terms, theallocation in the sixth and the seventh five-year plans was Rs. 856 crores and Rs. 1,800 crores,respectively (5).1.9. PLANNING OF IRRIGATION PROJECTSAgricultural establishments capable of applying controlled amounts of water to lands to producecrops are termed irrigation projects. These projects mainly consist of engineering (or hydraulic)structures which collect, convey, and deliver water to areas on which crops are grown. Irrigationprojects may range from a small farm unit to those serving extensive areas of millions ofhectares. A small irrigation project may consist of a low diversion weir or an inexpensivepumping plant along with small ditches (channels) and some minor control structures. A largeirrigation project includes a large storage reservoir, a huge dam, hundreds of kilometres ofcanals, branches and distributaries, control structures, and other works. Assuming all otherfactors (such as enlightened and experienced farmers, availability of good seeds, etc.) reasonablyfavourable, the following can be listed as conditions essential for the success of any irrigationproject.(i) Suitability of land (with respect to its soil, topography and drainage features) forcontinued agricultural production,(ii) Favourable climatic conditions for proper growth and yield of the crops,(iii) Adequate and economic supply of suitable quality of water, and(iv) Good site conditions for the safe construction and uninterrupted operations of theengineering works.During the last four decades, many large irrigation projects have been built asmultipurpose projects. Such projects serve more than one purpose of irrigation or powergeneration. In India, such large projects (single-purpose or multipurpose) are constructed andadministered by governmental agencies only. Most of the irrigation projects divert streamflow into a canal system which carries water to the cropland by gravity and, hence, are calledgravity projects. In pumping projects, water is obtained by pumping but delivered through agravity system.A gravity type irrigation project mainly includes the following works:(i) Storage (or intake) and diversion works,(ii) Conveyance and distribution channels,

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18 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 18(iii) Conveyance, control, and other hydraulic structures,(iv) Farm distribution, and(v) Drainage works.1.9.1. Development of an Irrigation ProjectA small irrigation project can be developed in a relatively short time. Farmers having landsuitable for agriculture and a source of adequate water supply can plan their own irrigationsystem, secure necessary finance from banks or other agencies, and get the engineering worksconstructed without any delay. On the other hand, development of a large irrigation project ismore complicated and time-consuming. Complexity and the time required for completion of alarge project increase with the size of the project. This is due to the organisational, legal,financial administrative, environmental, and engineering problems all of which must be givendetailed consideration prior to the construction of the irrigation works. The principal stages ofa large irrigation project are: (i) the promotional stage, (ii) the planning stage, (iii) theconstruction stage, and (iv) the settlement stage. The planning stage itself consists of threesubstages: (i) preliminary planning including feasibility studies, (ii) detailed planning of waterand land use, and (iii) the design of irrigation structures and canals. Engineering activitiesare needed during all stages (including operation and maintenance) of development of anirrigation project. However, the planning and construction stages require most intensiveengineering activities. A large irrigation project may take 10–30 years for completion dependingupon the size of the project.1.9.2. Feasibility of an Irrigation ProjectA proposed irrigation project is considered feasible only when the total estimated benefits ofthe project exceed its total estimated cost. However, from the farmer’s viewpoint, an irrigationproject is feasible only if his annual returns (after completion of the project) exceed his annualcosts by sufficient amount. The feasibility of an irrigation project is determined on the basis ofpreliminary estimates of area of land suitable for irrigation, water requirements, availablewater supplies, productivity of irrigated land, and required engineering works.1.9.3. Planning of an Irrigation ProjectOnce the project is considered feasible, the process of planning starts. Sufficient planning ofall aspects (organisational, technical, agricultural, legal, environmental, and financial) isessential in all irrigation projects. The process of planning of an irrigation project can be dividedinto the following two stages:(i) Preliminary planning, and(ii) Detailed planning.Preliminary plans, based on available information, are generally approximate but setthe course for detailed planning. Based on preliminary planning, the detailed measurementsare taken and the detailed plans are prepared. Obviously, detailed plans are more accurate.Alterations in the detailed plans may be necessary at all stages of the project. The preparationof plans of an irrigation project in an undeveloped region is a complicated task and needs theexpertise of specialists in areas of engineering, agriculture, soil science, and geology. Thefollowing are the main factors which must be determined accurately during the planning stageof an irrigation project:(i) Type of project and general plan of irrigation works,

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INTRODUCTION 19dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 19(ii) Location, extent and type of irrigable lands,(iii) Irrigation requirements for profitable crop production,(iv) Available water supplies for the project,(v) Irrigable (culturable) areas which can be economically supplied with water,(vi) Types and locations of necessary engineering works,(vii) Needs for immediate and future drainage,(viii) Feasibility of hydroelectric power development,(ix) Cost of storage, irrigation, power, and drainage features,(x) Evaluation of probable power, income, and indirect benefits,(xi) Method of financing the project construction,(xii) Desirable type of construction and development,(xiii) Probable annual cost of water to the farmers,(xiv) Cost of land preparations and farm distribution systems, and(xv) Feasible crops, costs of crop production, and probable crop returns.Most of these elements of project planning are interrelated to some extent. Hence, thestudies of the factors listed above should be carried out concurrently so that necessaryadjustments can be made promptly as planning progresses.The preliminary planning of an irrigation project consists of collecting and analysing allavailable data for the current study, securing additional data needed for preparing preliminaryplans for major project features by limited field surveys, and determining the feasibility of theproposed development by making the preliminary study of major features in sufficient detail.While investigations for the preliminary planning of irrigation projects should be conductedwith minimum expenditure, the results of the preliminary study must be sufficiently accurate.For preliminary investigations, hydrological studies can be based on the records of stations inthe vicinity of the proposed project site. Suitability of land for cultivation purposes can beexamined at representative sample areas. Foundation conditions at major irrigation workscan be determined from surface and a few subsurface explorations. For detailed planning,accurate data on all aspects of the proposed irrigation project are required to work out thedetailed plans and designs of various engineering works and to determine their economic sitelocations. Physical data needed for detailed planning are collected by topographic and locationsurveys, land and soil investigations and geological explorations (surface as well as subsurface)at the sites of major engineering works. Results of such surveys are suitably tabulated orplotted for convenient use in design offices and for planning further field work, if necessary.Hydrological data are usually determined by extensive studies of all available records andcollecting additional data, if possible. Photographic records of pre-construction (and also duringconstruction) condition at locations of all engineering works and aerial surveys for dams andreservoir sites must be supplemented by accurate ground surveys. Geological explorations arealso needed at the sites of dams, reservoirs, and major structures. Such data are useful instudies of water loss due to leakage and foundation designs. Sources of suitable amounts ofbuilding material (such as earth material, concrete aggregates, etc.) must be located andexplored. In case of insufficient supplies at the site, additional sources must be located.Having collected the required data for detailed planning, general plans for irrigationstructures are prepared. Such plans are dependent on topography, locations of irrigable areas,available water sources, storage requirements and construction costs. There can be different

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20 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 20types of possible feasible plans for a particular project. Advantages and disadvantages of allsuch possible alternatives must be looked into before arriving at the final plan for the project.Possibilities of using irrigation structures (dams and canal falls) for the development ofhydroelectric power should also be examined in project planning.1.9.4. Environmental Check-List for Irrigation and Water Resource ProjectsThe term environment includes the earth resources of land, water, air, vegetation, and man-made structures. The relationship between organisms (i.e., plant, animal and human) andtheir environment is termed ecology. All water resource projects, whether for irrigation or forhydro-electric power or for flood control or for water supply, are constructed for the well-beingof human beings and have definite impact on the surrounding ecosystems and environment. Itis, however, unfortunate that some of the environmentalists get unreasonably influenced bythe subtle propaganda against the development of water resources in India by the people ofthe developed nations who would not like the people of India to be able to reach near the levelof living style of the people of the developed countries. These people oppose development ofwater resources in India on environmental considerations without appreciating the needs ofIndia and the fact that India has not utilised even 50 per cent of its utilisable potential. As aresult, the per capita consumption of electric power and all other human needs is much lowerthan that in the developed countries. Region-wise, India is already a water-short country andfaces acute water problems in almost the entire country. This will continue to be so till Indiacontrols the increase in its population and harnesses its entire monsoon and redistributes itspatially and temporally. The mooted proposal of interlinking of rivers in the country (Appendix–1)envisages inter-basin transfers of surplus water to meet the water needs of the water-shortregions of the country. Such developmental works do cost a fortune in terms of money andenvironmental impacts. However, if the benefits (monetary as well as environmental) exceedthe cost (both monetary and environmental), the work should be considered justifiable. Thedecision of water resources development should be based upon analysing the future scenario‘with’ and ‘without’ the proposed development. Therefore, the developmental activities cannotbe stopped on environmental considerations alone. It should, however, be appreciated thatboth developmental activities and an intact environment are equally important for sustainedwell-being of human beings.Therefore, the water resources projects must be developed suchthat they minimise environmental disturbances and maintain ecological balance while meetingthe demands of man.The complexity of environmental processes seldom permits accurate prediction of thefull spectrum of changes in the environment brought about by any particular human activity.Many countries, including India, have now made it a statutory requirement for environmentalimpact assessment (EIA) of all new projects within specified category. Water resources projectsare included in this category and are approved only after favourable report of EIA studies. Thestatutory EIA authorities usually concentrate on negative aspects of environmental changes.This results in conflict between the EIA authorities and project planners. Since EIA requiresdetailed information, it is usually undertaken at the final stage of the project planning whenchanges in the project to mitigate adverse effects on environment are difficult and costly.The environmental check-list (Table 1.14) prepared by the Environmental ImpactsWorking Group of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage provides acomprehensive guide to the areas of environmental concern which should be considered in theplanning, design, operation, and management of irrigation, drainage, and flood control projects(12). This check-list provides a tool which will enable planners concerned with irrigation anddrainage development to appreciate the environmental changes which such projects may bring

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INTRODUCTION 23dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 23of changes in abstractions, retention storage, reservoir releases, flood protection works,new road/rail routes, river training or surface drainage works? If so, does this changebenefit or impair aquatic and flood-affected ecosystems, lead to an increase or decreasein flood damage or change land use restriction outside the project?1.3 Operation of dams. Can modifications to the operation of any storage or flood retentionreservoir(s) compensate for any adverse impacts associated with changes in flowregime, whilst minimising the losses to the Project and other users? Possiblemodifications affecting water quality downstream, saline intrusion, the sedimentregime of channels, the ecology of affected area, amenity values, disease transmissionor aquatic weed growth should be considered. (A separate environmental assessmentof large reservoir(s) may be required).1.4 Fall of water table. Does the Project cause a fall of the water table (from groundwaterabstractions, reduced infiltration due to river training, drainage or flood protectionworks)? If so, does this fall lead to increased potential for groundwater recharge(from seasonal rainfall) and improved conditions for land use; or lead to depletion ofthe groundwater system, affecting wells, springs, river flows and wetlands?1.5 Rise of water table. Does the Project cause a rise of the water table (from increasedinfiltration or seepage from irrigation, seepage from reservoirs and canals or increasedfloodplain inundation)? If so, does this rise lead to improved yield of wells and springsand improved capillary rise into the root zone; or lead to waterlogging of agriculturalor other land in the Project area or vicinity?1.9.4.2. Organic and Inorganic Pollution2.1 Solute dispersion. Are the Project and its dams leading to changes in theconcentrations of organic or inorganic solutes in the surface water due to changes tothe pattern of water abstraction and reuse in the basin or flow regulation? If so, dothe changes benefit or impair biological communities or domestic, agricultural orindustrial water users in the basin?2.2 Toxic Substances. Are significant levels of toxic substances accumulating or beingintroduced, mobilised and transmitted due to the construction and operation of theProject and its dams, or are levels being reduced? Substances such as pesticides,herbicides, hydrogen sulphide, oil derivatives, boron, selenium and heavy metals inirrigation supplies or surface, drainage and ground waters should be considered.2.3 Organic pollution. Are nutrients, organic compounds and pathogens being reducedor introduced and concentrated, due to the Project, its dams and its associated domesticsettlements? If so, does the change result in a reduction or increase in environmentaland water use problems in the Project area or downstream (in rivers, canals,reservoirs, end lakes, evaporation wet lands, depressions, deltas, estuary regions) orin the groundwater?2.4 Anaerobic effects. Is the Project reducing or creating anaerobic conditions oreutrophication in any impoundments, natural lakes, pools or wetlands due to changedinput or accumulation of fertilisers, other nutrients and organic matter or due tochanged water quality resulting from dams, river abstractions and drainage flows?2.5 Gas Emissions. Is the Project, either directly or through associated industrialprocessing, causing decreased or increased gas emissions which contribute to airpollution (O3, SO3, H2S, NOx, NH4, etc.) or the greenhouse effect (CO2, CH4, NOx, etc.)?

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24 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 241.9.4.3. Soil Properties and Salinity Effects3.1 Soil salinity. Is the Project leading to progressive accumulation of salts in the soils ofthe project area or the vicinity because of prevailing high salt content in, the soil, thegroundwater, or the surface water; or can a progressive leaching effect be expected?3.2 Soil properties. Is the project leading to changes in soil characteristics within theProject area or the vicinity due to such activities as irrigation, the application offertilisers or other chemicals, cultivation practices or dewatering through drainage?Changes which can improve or impair soil structure, workability, permeability,fertility associated with nutrient changes, humus content, pH, acid sulphate or hardpan formation or available water capacity should be considered.3.3 Saline groundwater. Are changes to the rates of seepage, percolation or leachingfrom the Project and its dams increasing or decreasing the concentrations of chlorides,nitrates or other salts in the groundwater?3.4 Saline drainage. Are changes to the concentrations of chlorides, nitrates or othersalts in the runoff or drainage water from the Project area in danger of affectingbiological communities or existing or potential downstream users (particularly duringlow flow conditions)?3.5 Saline intrusion. Are the Project and its dams leading to changes in saline water(sea water) intrusion into the estuary or into groundwater due to changes in lowflow, groundwater use, dredging or river training? If so, are the changes likely toaffect biological communities and water users in the Project vicinity and other areas?1.9.4.4. Erosion and Sedimentation4.1 Local erosion. Is increased or decreased soil loss or gully erosion being caused withinor close to the Project area by changes in land gradient and vegetative cover, byirrigation and cultivation practice, from banks of canals, roads and dams, from areasof cut and fill or due to storm drainage provision?4.2 Hinterland effect. Are the Project and its dams leading to changes in naturalvegetation, land productivity and erosion through changes in population density,animal husbandry, dryland farming practices, forest cover, soil conservation measures,infrastructure development and economic activities in the upper catchment and inthe region surrounding the Project?4.3 River morphology. Is the regime of the river(s) changed by the Project and its damsthrough changes in the quantity or seasonal distribution of flows and flood peaks inthe river(s), the abstraction of clear water, changes in sediment yield (caused by 4.1and 4.2), the trapping of sediment in reservoirs or the flushing of sediment controlstructures? If so, do these changes benefit or impair aquatic ecosystems or existingor potential users downstream?4.4 Channel structures. Is scouring, aggradation or bank erosion in the river(s)endangering the Project’s river headworks, offtake structures, weirs or pump inlets,its canal network, drainage or flood protection works, the free flow of its drainagesystem or structures and developments downstream? Consider effects associated withchange noted in 4.3 as well as those caused by other existing and planned upstreamdevelopments.

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INTRODUCTION 25dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 254.5 Sedimentation. Are the changes noted in 4.1-4.4 causing increased or decreasedsediment deposition in irrigation or drainage canals, hydraulic structures, storagereservoirs or on cultivated land, either via the irrigation system or the river(s)? If so,do these changes benefit or impair soil fertility, Project operation, land cultivation orthe capacity and operation of reservoirs?4.6 Estuary erosion. Are the Project and its dams leading to changes in the hydrologicalor sediment regimes of the river which can affect delta formation or estuary andcoastal erosion? If so, do these changes benefit or impair aquatic ecosystems (estuarineor marine), local habitation, navigation or other uses of the estuary?1.9.4.5. Biological and Ecological ChangesIs the Project, its dams or its associated infrastructure causing substantial and permanentchanges (positive or negative) within the habitats listed in 5.1-5.5?• in the natural ecology (habitat, vegetation, terrestrial animals, birds, fish and otheraquatic animals and plants),• in areas of special scientific interest, or• in biological diversityInclude the likely ecological benefit of any new or modified habitats created and of anyprotective or mitigatory measures adopted (such as nature reserves and compensatory forests).5.1 Project lands. The lands within the project area.5.2 Water bodies. Newly created, altered or natural channels, reservoirs, lakes and rivers.5.3 Surrounding area. All terrestrial areas influenced by the Project works and itsassociated domestic settlements and hinterland effects.5.4 Valleys and shores. River and canal banks, lake, reservoir and sea shores and theoffshore marine environment.5.5 Wetlands and plains. Floodplains or permanent wetlands including deltas and coastalswamps.5.6 Rare species. Is the existence of any rare, endangered or protected species in theregion enhanced or threatened by the changes noted in 5.1-5.5?5.7 Animal migration. Does the Project, its dams or new road/rail routes affect themigration patterns of wild animals, birds or fish? Make allowance for the compensatoryeffect or any additional provision within the Project (canal crossings, fish passes,spawning locations, resting or watering places, shade, considerate operation).5.8 Natural industry. Are commercial or subsistence activities depending on the naturalterrestrial and aquatic environment benefited or adversely affected by the Projectthrough ecological changes or changes in human access? Changes affecting suchactivities as fisheries, harvesting from natural vegetation, timber, game hunting orviewing and honey production should be considered.1.9.4.6. Socio-Economic Impacts6.1 Population change. Is the Project causing significant demographic changes in theProject area or vicinity which may affect social harmony? Changes to populationsize/density and demographic/ethnic composition should be considered.6.2 Income and amenity. Is the Project introducing significant economic/political changeswhich can increase or decrease social harmony and individual well-being? Changes

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26 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 26in the general levels of employment and income, in the provision of local infrastructureand amenities, in the relative distribution of income, property values and Projectbenefits (including access to irrigation water) and in the demand for labour and skills(particularly in relation to family/political hierarchy and different sexes and socialgroups) should be considered.6.3 Human migration. Has adequate provision been made for any temporary or migratorypopulation influx to avoid social deprivation, hardship or conflicts within these groupsor between the permanent and temporary groups? Human migration arising bothfrom the demand for skills/labour during construction and from the requirementsfor seasonal agricultural labour should be considered.6.4 Resettlement. Has adequate provision been made for the resettlement, livelihood andintegration of any people displaced by the Project and its dams or losing land, grazingor other means of income due to the Project? Also, has adequate provision been madefor the subsistence farming needs of people settled on or associated with the Project?6.5 Women’s role. Does the Project change the status and role of women (positively ornegatively) in relation to social standing, work load, access to income and heritageand material rights?6.6 Minority groups. Are the Project and its dams causing changes to the lifestyle,livelihoods or habitation of any social groups (particularly minority groups) leadingto major conflicts with, or changes to their traditional behaviour, social organisationor cultural and religious practices?6.7 Sites of value. Is access improved or hampered to places of aesthetic and scenic beauty,sites of historical and religious significance or mineral and palaeontological resources?Also, are any such sites being destroyed by the Project?6.8 Regional effects. Are the economic, infrastructural, social and demographic changesassociated with the Project likely to enhance, restrict or lead to unbalanced regionaldevelopment? Also, has adequate provision been made for new transport, marketingand processing needs associated with the Project?6.9 User involvement. Has there been adequate user and public participation in projectplanning, implementation and operation to ensure Project success and reduce futureconflicts? The potential for incorporating within the Project existing systems of landtenure, traditional irrigation, and existing organisational and sociological structuresand for the provision of new or extended facilities for credit, marketing, agriculturalextension and training should be considered.6.10 Recreation. Are the Project and its dams creating new recreational possibilities(fishing, hunting, sailing, canoeing, swimming, scenic walks, etc.) and are existingfacilities impaired, preserved or improved?1.9.4.7. Human HealthConsider each of the items 7.1-7.9 in relation to the local population, the labour force duringconstruction and their camp followers, the resettled and newly settled populations and migratorylabour groups.7.1 Water and Sanitation. Are the provisions for domestic water, sanitation and refusedisposal such that oral, faecal, water washed and other diseases and the pollution ofdomestic water can be controlled?

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INTRODUCTION 27dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 277.2 Habitation. Are the provisions for housing and forecast population densities suchthat diseases related to habitation or location of dwellings can be controlled?7.3 Health services. Are general health provisions adequate (treatment, vaccination,health education, family planning and other health facilities)?7.4 Nutrition. Is the Project leading to an increase or decrease in the general nutritionalstatus of the population or to changes in other lifestyle or income related disease? Ifso, are any specific groups particularly exposed to such health risks?7.5 Relocation effect. Are population movements introducing new infectious or water-related diseases to the Project area or causing stress-related health problems orbringing people with a low resistance to particular diseases into areas of hightransmission?7.6 Disease ecology. Are the extent and seasonal character of reservoirs, canals, drains,fast flowing water, paddy fields, flooded areas or swamps and the closeness or contactof the population with such water bodies leading to significant changes in thetransmission of water related diseases?7.7 Disease hosts. Are the populations of intermediate and other primary hosts of parasiticand water-related diseases (rodents, birds, monkeys, fish, domestic animals) and theinteraction of the human population with these hosts, decreased or increased by theProject?7.8 Disease control. Can the transmission of the diseases identified in 7.1, 7.2, 7.5, 7.6and 7.7 be reduced by introducing into the Project environmental modifications ormanipulations or by any other sustainable control methods? Possible environmentalmeasures include both removal of breeding, resting and hiding places of vectors andreducing contamination by and contact with humans.7.9 Other hazards. Is the risk to the population decreased or increased with respect to:• pathogens or toxic chemicals present in irrigation water (particularly throughwastewater reuse) or in the soils, which can accumulate in food crops or directlythreaten the health of the population ;• dwellings adequately located and designed to withstand any storm, earthquake orflood hazards;• sudden surges in river flow caused by the operation of spillways or power turbines;and• structures and water bodies designed to minimise accident and allow escape?1.9.4.8. Ecological Imbalances8.1 Pests and weeds. Are crop pests or weeds likely to increase or decrease (particularlythose favoured by irrigation/drainage/flood control) affecting yields, cultivation andrequirements for pesticides or herbicides?8.2 Animal diseases. Are domestic animals in the Project or vicinity more or less exposedto hazards, diseases and parasites as a fault of the Project and its dams?8.3 Aquatic weeds. Are reservoirs, rivers or irrigation and drainage canals likely to supportaquatic vegetation or algae? If so, can these plants be harvested or controlled, or willthey reduce the storage/conveyance capacity, interfere with the operation of hydraulicstructures or lead to oxygen-oversaturated or anaerobic water bodies?

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28 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 288.4 Structural damage. Is there a danger of significant damage being caused to dams,embankments, canal banks or other components of the irrigation/drainage/floodcontrol works through the action of plants and animals (including rodents andtermites) favoured by the Project?8.5 Animal imbalances. Does the Project cause zoological imbalances (insects, rodents,birds and other wild animals) through habitat modification, additional food supplyand shelter, extermination of predators, reduced competition or increased diseases?The recommended approach for use of the environmental check-list (Table 1.14) is toprepare a detailed description for each of the check-list items on the basis of collected informationrequired for the purpose. Based on these descriptions, the extent of the environmental effect isassessed and a cross (×) is entered in one of the columns A to E. The total number of crosses ineach column of Table 1.14 gives an indication of the number of responses in each category.However, these numbers should not be given strict quantitative significance in assessing theoverall balance of positive and negative changes from the project since certain changes will befar more important than others (12).1.10. CROPS AND CROP SEASONSMajor crops and crop seasons of India have been briefly described in this article.1.10.1. Crop SeasonsActivities relating to crops go on continuously throughout the year in India. In north India,there are two main crop seasons. These are ‘Kharif’ (July to October) and ‘Rabi’ (October toMarch). Crops grown between March and June are known as ‘Zaid’. In other parts of thecountry there are no such distinct seasons but some kind of classification of crop seasons existsevery where. The Kharif season is characterised by a gradual fall in temperature, larger numberof rainy days, low light intensity, a gradual shortening of the photoperiod, high relative humidity,and cyclonic weather. On the other hand, bright sunshine, near absence of cloudy days, andlower relative humidity are the characteristics of the Rabi season. The Kharif season startsearlier in the eastern part of the country because of the earlier arrival of the monsoon andcontinues until the withdrawal of the monsoon. On the other hand, the Rabi season startsearlier in the western part and continues until the sun attains equatorial position. Thus, Kharifis longer in the eastern part and Rabi is longer in the western part.There are several cropping patterns which are followed in India depending upon theclimatic, edaphic, socio-economic conditions of the region. With a geographic area of about 329Mha, stretching between 8°N and 36°N latitude and between 68°E and 98°E longitude, and itsaltitude varying from the mean sea level to the highest mountain ranges of the world, Indiahosts a variety of flora and fauna in its soil with few parallels in the world. The country has anaverage annual rainfall of 1,143 mm which varies from 11,489 mm around Cherrapunji inAssam to 217 mm around Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Just as rainfall and temperature vary overa wide range, there is considerable difference in the socio-economic conditions of peasants ofdifferent parts of the country. Due to the variation in soil-climatic conditions there existsconsiderable variation in crop genotypes. Considering the potential of foodgrain production indifferent parts of India, the country has been divided into the following five agricultural regions(13):(i) The eastern part including larger part of the north-eastern and south-eastern India,and another strip along the western coast form the rice region of India.(ii) The wheat region occupies most of northern, western, and central India.(iii) The millet (bajra)–sorghum (jawar) region comprising Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,and the Deccan plateau.

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INTRODUCTION 29dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 29(iv) The Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,and some adjoining areas in which potatoes, cereal crops (mainly maize and rice),and fruits are grown.(v) The plantation crops (e.g. tea, coffee, rubber, and spices) are grown in Assam, hills ofsouth India and peninsular region of India which form the plantation region.1.10.2. Ideal Weather for Kharif and Rabi SeasonsAt the end of May or beginning of June, there should be some rainfall so that the fields can beploughed. Towards the end of June, heavy rainfall is required for thorough wetting of the land.This must be followed by a period of clear sky for tillage and sowing operations. In the monthsof July and August, there should be periods of bright sunshine (not exceeding ten days) betweentwo spells of rain. The weather in the month of September should be similar to that in July andAugust, but with less rainfall. A few showers at the end of September are needed to preparethe land for Rabi crops.The first requirement for a good Rabi crop is that the soil temperature should fall rapidlyto germination temperature. During November and early December, clear days and cool weatherare beneficial. Towards the end of December, a light rainfall is useful. The winter rain must bebroken by clear weather as continuous cloudy weather results in widespread plant diseases.The rest of the Rabi season should be dry and free from hailstorms.1.10.3. Crops of Kharif SeasonKharif (or south-westerly monsoon) crops include rice, maize, jawar, bajra, groundnut, cottonand other crops.1.10.3.1. RiceRice cultivation in India stretches from 8°N latitude to 34°N latitude. Rice is also grown inareas below the sea level (as in the Kuttanad region of Kerala) as well as at altitudes of about2000 m (as in parts of Jammu and Kashmir). High rainfall or assured irrigation is essential forareas of rice cultivation. Rice crop requires about 30 cm of water per month during the growingperiod stretching from about 3 to 8 months. Rice is grown on about 40 Mha in the country. Thisarea also includes about 7 Mha which is saline, alkaline or flood-prone. Twenty-five per cent ofthe rice growing area has assured irrigation and about 55 per cent of the rice growing area isill-drained or waterlogged. The rest of the rice-growing area is rainfed uplands where therainfall is marginal to moderate and its distribution is erratic.Rice cultivation in India is either upland cultivation or lowland cultivation. The uplandsystem of cultivation is confined to such areas which do not have assured irrigation facilities.In this system, fields are ploughed in summer, farmyard manure is uniformly distributed 2–3weeks before sowing, and the rain water is impounded in the field until the crop is about 45–60days old.In the lowland system of rice cultivation, the land is ploughed when 5–10 cm of water isstanding in the field. Seeds may be sown after sprouting. Alternatively, seedling which are 25–30 days old are transplanted. The nursery area required to provide seedlings for transplantingon one hectare is roughtly one-twentieth of a hectare. The water requirement of lowland ricecultivation is much higher than that of other cereal crops with similar duration.1.10.3.2. MaizeMaize is one of the main cereals of the world and ranks first in the average yield. Its worldaverage yield of 27.8 quintals/hectare (q/ha) is followed by the average yields of rice (22.5 q/

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30 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 30ha), wheat (16.3 q/ha) and millets (6.6 q/ha). In terms of area of maize cultivation, India ranksfifth (after USA, Brazil, China and Mexico) in the world. However, India stands eleventh inthe world in terms of maize production. Within India, maize production ranks only next torice, wheat, jawar, and bajra in terms of area as well as production. Most of the maize cultivation(around 75 per cent) is in the states of Uttar Pradesh (1.4 Mha), Bihar (0.96 Mha), MadhyaPradesh (0.58 Mha), Rajasthan (0.78 Mha) and Punjab (0.52 Mha).Maize requires deep and well-drained fertile soils, but can be grown on any type of soilranging from heavy clays to light sands provided that the pH does not deviate from the range7.5 to 8.5. Maize plants, particularly in the seedling stage, are highly susceptible to salinityand waterlogging, and hence, proper drainage of the land is essential for the successfulcultivation of maize. Over 85 per cent of the crop area in India is rainfed during the monsoon.Maize is essentially a warm weather crop grown in different regions of the world rangingfrom tropical to temperate ones. It cannot withstand frost at any stage of its growth. In India,its cultivation extends from the hot arid plains of Rajasthan and Gujarat to the wet regions ofAssam and West Bengal.Maize is a short-duration (80–95 days) crop and, hence, can conveniently fit into a widerange of crop rotations. It is usually grown as a pure crop, but sometimes legumes (e.g., moong,arhar or beans), and quick-growing vegetables (e.g., pumkins, gourds) are grown as mixedcrops with it.The sowing of maize starts 7–10 days before the usual date of the onset of monsoon. Oneirrigation at the initial stage is useful for the establishment of seedlings and the crop yield isincreased by about 15–20 per cent. The maize crop is harvested when the grains are nearly dryand do not contain more than 20 per cent moisture. Maize is grown for grains as well as fodder.1.10.3.3. Sorghum (Jawar)Sorghum (popularly known as jawar) is the main food and fodder crop of dryland agriculture.It is grown over an area of about 18 Mha with the average yield of about 600 kg/ha. Jawarcultivation is concentrated mainly in the peninsular and central India. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh arethe major jawar-growing states. Jawar is mainly grown where rainfall distribution rangesfrom 10–20 cm per month for at least 3 to 4 months of the south-westerly monsoon.Sorghum is grown during both Kharif (July–October) and Rabi (October–February)seasons. The Rabi cultivation of jawar constitutes about 37 per cent of the total jawar-growingarea. Sorghum cultivation still remains predominantly traditional in most parts of the country.Mixed cropping of jawar and arhar (tur) is very common. Harvesting and threshing are stillcarried out manually or with bullock power. The national average yields are still low andaround 500 kg/ha. However, the high-yielding hybrid varieties can yield 2000–3000 kg/ha underaverage growing conditions.1.10.3.4. Spiked Millet (Bajra)Bajra is a drought-resistant crop which is generally preferred in low rainfall areas and lightersoils. It is grown in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. Over 66 per cent ofthis crop is grown in areas receiving 10–20 cm per month of rainfall, extending over 1 to 4months of the south-westerly monsoons. It should be noted that jawar and bajra are grownmostly under identical environmental conditions and both have a wide range of adaptability todrought, temperature, and soil.

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INTRODUCTION 31dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 311.10.3.5. GroundnutGroundnut is grown over an area of about 7 Mha concentrated in the states of Gujarat (24percent), Andhra Pradesh (20 per cent), Karnataka (12 per cent), Maharashtra (12 per cent),and Tamil Nadu (13 per cent). Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradeshtogether have about 20 per cent of the total groundnut producing area in the country. Groundnutis generally grown as a rainfed Kharif crop. Groundnut is sown during May and June in thesubtropics. In the tropics, however, it is sown during either January and February or June andJuly. Under rainfed conditions the average yield is 1200–1400 kg per hectare.1.10.3.6. CottonCotton occupies about 7.5 Mha in India. Maharashtra (36 per cent), Gujarat (21 per cent),Karnataka (13 per cent), and Madhya Pradesh (9 per cent) are the leading states which togethergrow cotton over an area of about 6 Mha. Other cotton growing states are Punjab (5 per cent),Andhra Pradesh (4 per cent), Tami Nadu (4 per cent), Haryana (3 per cent), and Rajasthan (3per cent). Most of the cotton-growing areas in the country are in the high to medium rainfallzones.Cotton requires a well-drained soil. It is grown as a rainfed crop in the black cotton andmedium black soils and as an irrigated crop in alluvial soils. The sowing season varies fromregion to region and starts early (April-May) in north India.1.10.4. Crops of Rabi SeasonMain crops of Rabi (Post-monsoon) season are wheat, barley and gram.1.10.4.1. WheatIn terms of production, wheat occupies the first place among the food crops in the world. InIndia, it is the second most important food crop, next only to rice. The Indo-Gangetic plainsform the most important wheat area. The cool winters and hot summers are conducive to agood crop of wheat. Well-drained loams and clayey loams are considered good soils for thecultivation of wheat. However, good crops of wheat can be raised in sandy loams and blacksoils also.Wheat crop requires a well-pulverized but compact seedbed for good and uniformgermination. Under irrigated conditions, the first fortnight of November is considered theoptimum time for sowing the medium to long-duration wheats (e.g. the ‘Kalyanasona’ variety).For short-duration wheats (e.g. the ‘Sonalika’ variety) the second fortnight of November is theoptimum time of sowing. In eastern India, wheat is sown in the third week of December due tothe late harvesting of paddy. In north-western India also, wheat sowings get delayed due tothe late harvesitng of paddy, sugarcane or potato.For wheat sown under irrigated conditions, four to six irrigations are required. The firstirrigation should be given at the stage of initiation of the crown root, i.e., about 20–25 daysafter sowing. Two or three extra irrigations may be required in case of very light or sandy soils.The crop is harvested when the grains harden and the straw becomes dry and brittle.The harvesting time varies in different regions. In the peninsular region, harvesting starts inthe latter half of February and is over in the first week of March. In the central zone, the peakseason for harvesting is in the month of March. In the north-western zone, the peak harvestingperiod is the latter half of April. In the eastern zone, harvesting is over by mid–April. However,in the hills, the wheat crop is harvested in the months of May and June.

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32 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 32Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar,and West Bengal together grow wheat over an area exceeding 70 per cent of the total area ofwheat crop for the country. These states also produce 76 percent of the total what productionof India and have extensive irrigation systems covering from 85 per cent of the area in Punjabto 51 per cent in Bihar.1.10.4.2. BarleyBarley (Jau) is an important rabi crop ranking next only to wheat. The total area under thiscrop is about 3.0 Mha, producing nearly 3 million tonnes of grain. Main barley growing statesare Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar which together grow barley over an area which isabout 80 per cent of total barley growing area.This crop can be grown successfully on all soils which are suitable for wheat cultivation.Barley crop needs less water and is tolerant to salinity. Recent experiments indicate that thiscrop can be grown on coastal saline soils of Sunderbans in West Bengal and on saline soils inareas of north Karnataka irrigated by canals.The normal sowing season for barley extends from middle of October to the middle ofNovember, but it can be sown as late as the first week of January. Barley is grown either onconserved moisture or under restricted irrigation. Generally, it needs two to three irrigations.On highly alkaline or saline soils, frequent light irrigations are given.Harvesting period for barley is between mid-March to mid-April. Harvesting starts inthe month of February in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka. In the foothills of theHimalayas, harvesting time varies from the end of April to the end of May. The average grainyield of the ‘dry’ crop is about 700–1000 kg/ha whereas that of the irrigated crop is about twiceas much.1.10.4.3. GramGram (Chana) is the most important pulse which accounts for more than a third of the pulsegrowing area and about 40 per cent of the production of pulses in India. The average annualarea and production of gram are about 7–8 Mha and about 4–5 million tonnes of grainrespectively. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh together grow gramover an area exceeding 6 Mha.In North India, gram is grown on light alluvial soils which are less suitable for wheat. Insouth India, gram is cultivated on clay loams and black cotton soils. ‘Kabuli gram’, however,requires soil better than light alluvial soils. Gram is generally grown as a dry crop in the Rabiseason.The preparation of land for gram is similar to that for wheat. The seeds are sown inrows from the middle of October to the beginning of November. The crop matures in about 150days in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and in 120 days in south India.1.10.5. Other Major Crops1.10.5.1. SugarcaneSugarcane is the main source of sugar and is an important cash crop. It occupies about 1.8 percent of the total cultivated area in the country. In the past, the area under sugarcane has beenfluctuating between 2 and 2.7 Mha. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for about 47 per cent ofannual production in terms of raw sugar. However, the production per hectare is the highestin Karnataka followed by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

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INTRODUCTION 33dharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 33Medium heavy soils are best suited for sugarcane. It can also be grown on lighter andheavy soils provided that there is sufficient irrigation available in the former and drainage isgood in the latter type of soils. In north India, it is cultivated largely on the loams and clayloams of the Gangetic and other alluviums. In peninsular India, it is grown on brown or reddishloams, laterites, and black cotton soils.Sugarcane grows over a prolonged period. In north India, planting of sugracane coincideswith the beginning of warm weather and is completed well before the onset of summer. Usually,January and February are the best months for planting of suagrcane in Bihar, February inUttar Pradesh, and the first fortnight of March in Punjab and Haryana.In the case of sugarcane, the maintenance of optimum soil moisture during all stages ofgrowth is one of the essential requisites for obtaining higher yields. The crop should, therefore,be grown in areas of well-distributed rainfall with assured and adequate irrigation. The totalirrigation requirement of the crop for optimum yield varies between 200 and 300 cm. Sugarcaneripens around December and its sugar content continues to rise till about the end of March bywhich time it is harvested in north India.1.10.5.2. TeaTea is an important beverage and its consumption in the world is more than that of any otherbeverage. India and Sri Lanka are the important tea growing countries. In India, tea is grownin Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Tea is grown over an area ofabout 358,000 hectares and about 470 million kilograms of the product is obtained annually.The tea crop is the most important plantation crop of India.The tea plant, in its natural state, grows into a small or medium-sized tree. In commercialplantations, it is pruned and trained to form a multi-branched low bush. Appropriate scheduleof fertiliser applications is very useful to produce vigorous vegetative growth of the tea crop.The tea plants are generally raised in nurseries. About one to one-and-a-half year old nurseryseedlings are used for field plantation. Timely irrigation is essential for the production of goodquality leaves.1.10.5.3. PotatoAmongst vegetables, potato is grown over the largest area (for any single vegetable) in theworld. In the plains of north India, potato is sown from the middle of September to the beginningof January. Two successive crops can be raised on the same land. Potato needs frequent irrigationdepending upon the soil and climatic conditions. Generally, six irrigations are sufficient.Salient details of some of the main crops of India are given in Table 1.15. Table 1.16gives details about irrigated area under principal crops in different states (14).1.10.6. Multiple CroppingTo meet the food requirements of ever-growing population of India, the availablecultivable land (about 143 Mha) should be intensively cropped. This can be achieved by multiplecropping which increases agricultural production per unit area of cultivated land in a yearwith the available resource in a given environment. There are two forms of multiple cropping:

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34 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 34Table 1.15 Salient details of some crops of north India (Plains)Crop Sowing time Harvesting Seed Average yield Averagetime requirement under normal water depth(kg/ha) condtions (mm)(q/ha)Rice June–July October– 40–50 20–40 1500–2000NovemberMaize June–July September– 40–50 15–30 150–200Jan.–Feb. OctoberSorghum June–July October– 20–30 15–30 150–200(Jawar) NovemberSpiked Millet July October– 5–10 15–30 150–200(Bajra) NovemberGroundnut June–July November– 100–120 20–25 200–250DecemberCotton April–May November– 15–20 2–5 500–700January (with seeds)Wheat November– April–May 100–120 20–40 300–400DecemberBarley October– March–April 80–100 20–40 250–300NovemberGram October– March–April 30–40 15–30 250–300NovemberSugarcane October– October–April 3000–4000 8000–10000 1500–2000Novemberand February–MarchPotatoes September– November– 1500–2500 25000–30000 400–500December February(i) intercropping, and (ii) sequential cropping. When two or more crops are grownsimultaneously on the same field, it is termed intercropping. Crop intensification is in bothtime and space dimensions. There is, obviously, strong intercrop competition in this form ofmultiple cropping. On the other hand, when two or more crops are grown in sequence on thesame field in a year, it is termed sequential cropping. The succeeding crop is planted after thepreceding crop has been harvested. Crop intensification is only in time dimension and there isno intercrop competition in sequential cropping.

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36 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-iengEgg1-2.pm5 36Choice of a suitable cropping pattern for an area is dependent mainly on the soilcharacteristics and climatic conditions of the area. From the considerations of management ofcanal supplies, it is important to arrive at a cropping pattern which could be sustainable by theavailable water and also maximise economic benefits for the people of that area. For this purpose,the systems approach is very useful. Parameters, such as self sufficiency for the area in staplefood and fodder, use of a diversified pattern to reduce risks of failure, problems related tostorage and marketing particularly for perishable crops, reasonably uniform demand of waterall through the year, and the preferences of the local farmers are always incorporated in theanalysis.1.10.7. Hybrid CroppingHybrid is an offspring of parents belonging to different characteristic groups of the same geneticgroup. Plant and animal breeders have developed special techniques for producing hybridsartificially in laboratories, zoos, and farms.Hybrids generally tend to be sterile. Even if they can produce, the first generationoffspring may resemble their parents but next generation may not. The second generationusually shows different combination of the characteristics of the original crossbred parents.Growing of a crop with hybrid seeds is called hybrid cropping. The hybrid seeds mayunite the desirable traits of both parents. For example, a gardener may crossbreed anornamental large flower with a sweet-smelling variety to produce a hybrid variety of largearomatic flowers.The hybrid seeds have what is called hybrid vigour i.e., they generally tend to be large,faster-growing and healthier than their parent. This fact has been exploited commercially inthe cultivation of corn (maize), potatoes, cotton, and several varieties of flowers. However, thehybrid seeds are very costly and, therefore, cannot be adopted on a mass scale in the country.Hybrid seeds, however, appear more promising for glasshouse cultivation of plants.EXERCISES1.1. What is irrigation? What has been its impact on human environment?1.2. Justifying the need of irrigation in India, describe its development in the country.1.3. What are the requirements for the success of an irrigation project? How is an irrigation projectplanned?1.4. What are the objectives of command area development? How are these achieved through commandarea development programmes?1.5. What are the main crop seasons of India? Describe the ideal weather conditions for these seasons.1.6. What are the factors that must be considered for deciding an ideal cropping pattern in a givenarea ?REFERENCES1. Hansen, VE, OW, Israelsen and GE, Stringham, Irrigation Principles and Practices, 4th ed.,John Wiley & Sons, 1979.2. Bharat Singh, Agriculture and Irrigation, National Seminar on New Perspectives in WaterManagement, Indore, 1989.3. Holy, M, Irrigation Structures, CBIP Publication No. 135, New Delhi, 1979.

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38HYDROLOGY22.1. HYDROLOGYThe word hydrology means science of water which deals with the spatial and temporalcharacteristics of the earth’s water in all its aspects such as occurrence, circulation, distribution,physical and chemical properties, and impact on environment and living things. Engineeringhydrology deals with all these aspects which are pertinent to planning, design, and operationof hydraulic engineering projects for the control and use of the available water. Hydrologyfinds its application in the design and operation of water resources projects to estimate themagnitudes of flood flows at different times of a year to decide reservoir capacity, spillwaydischarge, dimensions of hydraulic structures etc. Basic concepts of hydrology have been dealtwith in this chapter.2.2. HYDROLOGIC CYCLEThe total water of earth, excluding deep ground water, is in constant circulation from theearth (including oceans) to atmosphere and back to the earth and oceans. This cycle of wateramongst earth, oceans, and atmospheric systems is known as hydrologic cycle.Figure 2.1 is an enormously simplified sketch of the hydrologic cycle for which sun is thesource of energy. The hydrologic cycle (Fig. 2.1) can be visualized to begin with the evaporation(due to solar heat) of water from the oceans, streams and lakes of the earth into the earth’satmosphere. The water vapour, under suitable conditions, get condensed to form clouds movingwith wind all over the earth’s surface and which, in turn, may result in precipitation (in theform of rain water, snow, hail, sleet etc.) over the oceans as well as the land surface of theearth. Part of the precipitation, even while falling, may evaporate back into the atmosphere.Another part of the precipitation may be intercepted by vegetation on the ground or othersurfaces. The intercepted precipitation may either evaporate into the atmosphere or fall backon the earth’s surface. The greater part of the precipitation falling on the earth’s surface isretained in the upper soil from where it may return to the atmosphere through evaporationand transpiration by plants and/or find its way, over and through the soil surface as runoff, tostream (or river) channels and the runoff thus becoming stream flow. Yet another part of theprecipitation may penetrate into the ground to become part of the ground water. The water ofstream channels, under the influence of gravity, moves towards lower levels to ultimatelymeet the oceans. Water from ocean may also find its way into the adjoining aquifers. Part ofthe stream water also gets evaporated back into the atmosphere from the surface of the stream.The ground water too moves towards the lower levels to ultimately reach the oceans. Theground water, at times, is a source of stream flow.dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 38

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HYDROLOGY 39dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 39Subsurface systemAquifer systemAtmospheric systemGround water joining oceanSea water intrusionStream water to aquiferGround water runoffLand systemEvaporationEvaporationPrecolationPrecipitationPrecipitationEvaporationEvaporationEvapotranspirationPrecipitationInfiltrationSurface runoffExfiltrationSubsurface runoffUpward movement ofground waterSTREAMOCEANTidal flowStreamflowFig.2.1 Hydrologic cycleThe description of the hydrologic cycle should not lead one to conclude that there is acontinuous mechanism through which water moves steadily at a constant rate. The movementof water through the cycle is evidently variable, both in time and space although the totalwater resources of the earth remains invariant since the formation of the earth system. Further,the hydrologic cycle is a very complex phenomenon that has been taking place since the earthformed. It should also be noted that the hydrologic cycle is a continuous recirculating cyclewith neither a beginning nor an end.Hydrologic system is defined as a structure or volume in space surrounded by a boundarythat receives water and other inputs, operates on them internally, and produces them as outputs

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40 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 40(1). The global hydrologic cycle can be termed a hydrologic system containing three subsystems :the atmospheric water system, the surface water system, and the subsurface water system.Another example of the hydrologic system is storm-rainfall-runoff process on a watershed.Watershed (or drainage basin or catchment) is a topographic area that drains rain water fallingon it into a surface stream and discharges surface stream flow through one particular locationidentified as watershed outlet or watershed mouth. The term ‘watershed’ used for the catchmentarea should be distinguished from the watershed used in the context of canal alignment,chapter-5.2.3. PRECIPITATIONThe atmospheric air always contains moisture. Evaporation from the oceans is the major source(about 90%) of the atmospheric moisture for precipitation. Continental evaporation contributesonly about 10% of the atmospheric moisture for precipitation. The atmosphere contains themoisture even on days of bright sun-shine. However, for the occurrence of precipitation, somemechanism is required to cool the atmospheric air sufficiently to bring it to (or near) saturation.This mechanism is provided by either convective systems (due to unequal radiative heating orcooling of the earth’s surface and atmosphere) or by orographic barriers (such as mountainsdue to which air gets lifted up and consequently undergoes cooling, condensation, andprecipitation) and results into, respectively, convective and orographic precipitations.Alternatively, the air lifted into the atmosphere may converge into a low-pressure area (orcyclone) causing cyclonic precipitation. Artificially induced precipitation requires delivery ofdry ice or silver iodide or some other cloud seeding agent into the clouds by aircrafts or balloons.The common forms of precipitation are drizzle or mist (water droplets of diameters lessthan 0.5 mm), rain (water drops of size between 0.5 mm and 6.0 mm), snow (ice crystalscombining to form flakes with average specific gravity of about 0.1), sleet (rain water drops,falling through air at or below freezing temperatures, turned to frozen rain drops), and hail(precipitation in the form of ice balls of diameter more than about 8 mm). Most of theprecipitation, generally, is in the form of rains. Therefore, the terms precipitation and rainfallare considered synonymous. Rainfall, i.e., liquid precipitation, is considered light when therate of rainfall is upto 2.5 mm/hr, moderate when the rate of rainfall is between 2.5 mm/hr andabout 7.5 mm/hr, and heavy when the rate of rainfall is higher than about 7.5 mm/hr.2.3.1. Characteristics of Precipitation in IndiaIndia receives more than 75% of its annual precipitation during the monsoon season (June toSeptember). The monsoon (i.e., south-west monsoon) originates in the Indian ocean and appearsin the southern part of Kerala by the end of May or the beginning of June. The monsoon winds,then, advance and cover the entire country by mid-July.The monsoon season is, however, nota period of continuous rainfall. The temporal and spatial variability of the magnitude of rainfallresults into regions of droughts and floods. Relatively speaking, Assam and the north-easternreigon are the heavy rainfall regions (with average annual rainfall ranging from 2000-4000mm) and U.P., Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat constitute low rainfall regions (withaverage annual rainfall less than about 1000 mm). Western Ghats receive about 2000-3000mm of annual rainfall. Around mid-December, the western disturbances cause moderate toheavy rain and snowfall (about 250 mm) in the Himalayas and Jammu and Kashmir and othernorthern regions of the country. Low pressure areas formed in the Bay of Bengal during thisperiod cause some rainfall in the south-eastern parts of the country.The temporal variation of annual rainfall at a given place is expressed in terms of thecoefficient of variation, Cv defined as

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HYDROLOGY 41dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 41Cv =100 standard deviationmean×=−100 1σmP(2.1)The coefficient of variation of the annual rainfall for different places may vary between15 (for regions of high rainfall) and 70 (for regions of scanty rainfall) with an average value ofabout 30.2.3.2. Measurement of PrecipitationOne of the most crucial and least known components of the global hydrologic cycle is theprecipitation that is the basic data required to estimate any hydrologic quantity (such as runoff,flood discharge etc.). Therefore, measurement of precipitation is an important component ofall hydrologic studies. Weather and water-balance studies too require information onprecipitation.2.3.2.1. Precipitation GaugesPrecipitation (of all kinds) is measured in terms of depth of water (in millimeters) that wouldaccumulate on a level surface if the precipitation remained where it fell. A variety of instrumentshave been developed for measuring precipitation (or precipitation rate) and are known asprecipitation gauges or, simply, rain gauges which are classified as either recording or non-recording rain gauges.Non-recording rain gauges only collect rain water which, when measured suitably, givesthe total amount of rainfall at the rain gauge station during the measuring interval. TheIndian Meteorological Department has adopted Symon’s rain gauge (Fig. 2.2). A glass bottleand funnel with brass rim are put in a metallic cylinder such that the top of the cylinder is 305mm above the ground level. Rain water falls into the glass bottle through the funnel. Thewater collected in the bottle is measured with the help of a standard measuring glass jar whichis supplied with the rain gauge. The jar measures rainfall in millimeters. At each station,rainfall observations are taken twice daily at 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.20.32 cm20.32 cm12.70 cm12.70 cm5.08 cm5.08 cm5.08 cm5.08 cm5.08 cm5.08 cm20.32 cm20.32 cmCylindrical metalcaseFunnelGlass bottleG.L.Foundation block60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cmFig. 2.2 Symon’s rain gauge

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42 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 42Recording rain gauges automatically record the intensity of rainfall and the time of itsoccurrence in the form of a trace (or graph) marked on a graph paper wrapped round a revolvingdrum. Following three types are the most widely used recording rain gauges :(i) Tipping bucket rain gauge,(ii) Weighing bucket rain gauge, and(iii) Siphon rain gauge.(i) Tipping bucket rain gauge : A 300 mm diameter funnel collects rain water andconducts it to one of the two small buckets (Fig. 2.3) which are so designed that when 0.25 mmof rainfall is collected in a bucket, it tilts and empties its water into a bigger storage tank and,simultaneously, moves the other bucket below the funnel. When any of the two buckets tilts, itactuates an electric circuit causing a pen to make a mark on a revolving drum. The recordingequipment can be remotely located in a building away from the rain gauge. At a scheduledtime, the rain water collected in the storage tank can be measured to yield total rainfall in themeasuring duration. The rainfall intensity (and also the total rainfall) can be estimated bystudying the record sheet on which each mark indicates 0.25 mm of rain in the duration elapsedbetween the two adjacent marks.30 cm30 cmReceiverFunnelTippingbucketStoragetankMeasuringtubeFig. 2.3 Tipping bucket rain gauge(ii) Weighing bucket rain gauge : This gauge (Fig. 2.4) has a system by which the rainthat falls into a bucket set on a platform is weighed by a weighing device suitably attached tothe platform. The increasing weight of rain water in the bucket moves the platform. Thismovement is suitably transmitted to a pen which makes a trace of accumulated amount ofrainfall on a suitably graduated chart wrapped round a clockdriven revolving drum. The rain-fall record of this gauge is in the form of a mass curve of rainfall (Fig. 2.5). The slope of thiscurve at any given time gives the intensity of rainfall at that time.

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HYDROLOGY 43dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 43CatchbucketCoverPlatformWeighing devicePen armBaseRevolving drumwith record sheetFig. 2.4 Weighing bucket rain gauge0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Time (Days)020406080100120140160Accumulatedrainfall(mm)Fig. 2.5 Rainfall record of bucket rain gauge (mass curve of rainfall)(iii) Siphon rain gauge : This gauge (Fig. 2.6) is also called float type rain gauge as thisgauge has a chamber which contains a light and hollow float. The vertical movement of floaton account of rise in the water level in the chamber (due to rain water falling in it) is transmit-ted by a suitable mechanism to move a pen on a clock-driven revolving chart. The record ofrainfall is in the form of a mass curve of rainfall and, hence, the slope of the curve gives theintensity of rainfall.

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HYDROLOGY 45dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 451. The rain gauge shall be placed on a level ground, not upon a slope or a terrace andnever upon a wall or roof.2. On no account the rain gauge shall be placed on a slope such that the ground fallsaway steeply in the direction of the prevailing wind.3. The distance of the rain gauge from any object shall not be less than twice the heightof the object above the rim of the gauge.4. Great care shall be taken at mountain and coast stations so that the gauges are notunduly exposed to the sweep of the wind. A belt of trees or a wall on the side of the prevailingwind at a distance exceeding twice its height shall form an efficient shelter.5. In hills where it is difficult to find a level space, the site for the rain gauge shall bechosen where it is best shielded from high winds and where the wind does not cause eddies.6. The location of the gauge should not be changed without taking suitable precautions.Description of the site and surroundings should be made a matter of record.2.3.2.2. Radar Measurement of PrecipitationIn regions of difficult and inaccessible terrains, precipitation can be measured (within about10% accuracy of the rain gauge measurements) with the help of a radar (radio detecting andranging). A radar transmits a pulse of electromagnetic waves as a beam in a direction dependingupon the position of the movable antenna. The wave travelling at a speed of light is partiallyreflected by cloud or precipitation particles and returns to the radar where it is received by thesame antenna. The display of the magnitude of the energy of the returned wave on theradarscope (i.e., radar screen) is called an echo and its brightness is termed echo intensity. Theduration between the transmission of the pulse and appearance of the echo on the radarscopeis a measure of the distance (i.e., range) of the target from the radar. Direction of the targetwith respect to the radar is decided by the orientation of the antenna at the time the targetsignal is received. The echo is seen in polar coordinates. If there is no target (i.e., cloud orprecipitation particles), the screen is dimly illuminated. A small target would appear as abright point whereas an extended target (such as a rain shower) would appear as a brightpatch. The radarscope being divided as per the coordinate system, the position of the targetcan be estimated. By having a proper calibration between the echo intensity and rainfall (or itsintensity), one can estimate the rainfall (or rainfall intensity). The Indian MeteorologicalDepartment has a well-established radar network for the purpose of detecting thunderstormsbesides a few cyclone-warning radars along the eastern coast of the country.The wavelength of the electromagnetic waves transmitted by the meterological radarsis in the range of 3 to 10 cm; the usual operating range being 5 cm (for light rains) to 10 cm (forheavy rains). The relationship among the characteristics of the waves and the rainfall intensityis represented byPr = CZ/r2where, Pr is the average echo power, r is the distance from radar to target and C is a suitableconstant. The radar echo factor Z is related to the intensity of rainfall I (in mm/hr) asZ = aIbin which, a and b are numerical constants that are determined by calibrating the radar. Onemay, thus, obtainI = [r2Pr /(aC)]1/bPresent day developments in radar measurements of precipitation include on-lineprocessing of the radar data and Doppler type radars for measuring the velocity and distributionof raindrops.

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46 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 462.3.2.3. Satellite Measurement of PreciptationIt is a common experience that gauge network for measuring precipitation in a large andinaccessible area (such as in desert and hilly regions) is generally inadequate, and non-existentin oceans. The satellite observation is the only effective way for continuous monitoring ofprecipitation events over a large or inaccessible area. Use of the meterological satellites forweather and water balance studies is, therefore, continuously increasing.In satellite measurements, the precipitation is estimated by correlating the satellite-derived data and observed rainfall data. These relationships can be developed for a part ofelectromagnetic spectrum using cloud life history or cloud indexing approach. The first approachuses data from geo-stationary satellites that produce data at every half an hour interval. Thesecond approach, based on cloud classification, does not require a series of consecutiveobservations of the same cloud system (2).Microwave remote sensing techniques that can directly monitor the rainfall charac-teristics have great potential in rainfall measurement.2.3.3. Average Depth of Precipitation Over an AreaThe information on the average depth of precipitation (or rainfall) over a specified area oneither the storm basis or seasonal basis or annual basis is often required in several types ofhydrologic problems. The depth of rainfall measured by a rain gauge is valid for that raingauge station and in its immediate vicinity. Over a large area like watershed (or catchment) ofa stream, there will be several such stations and the average depth of rainfall over the entirearea can be estimated by one of the following methods:2.3.3.1. Arithmetic Mean MethodThis is the simplest method in which average depth of rainfall is obtained by obtaining thesum of the depths of rainfall (say P1, P2, P3, P4 .... Pn) measured at stations 1, 2, 3, ..... n anddividing the sum by the total number of stations i.e. n. Thus,P =P P P Pn nPnini1 2 311+ + +==∑......(2.2)This method is suitable if the rain gauge stations are uniformly distributed over theentire area and the rainfall variation in the area is not large.2.3.3.2. Theissen Polygon MethodThe Theissen polygon method takes into account the non-uniform distribution of the gaugesby assigning a weightage factor for each rain gauge. In this method, the enitre area is dividedinto number of triangular areas by joining adjacent rain gauge stations with straight lines, asshown in Fig. 2.7 (a and b). If a bisector is drawn on each of the lines joining adjacent raingauge stations, there will be number of polygons and each polygon, within itself, will have onlyone rain gauge station. Assuming that rainfall Pi recorded at any station i is representativerainfall of the area Ai of the polygon i within which rain gauge station is located, the weightedaverage depth of rainfall P for the given area is given asP =11AP Aini i=∑ (2.3)where, A =iniA=∑1= A1 + A2 + A3 + ...... An

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HYDROLOGY 47dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 47Here,AAiis termed the weightage factor for ith rain gauge.288.1 60.9310 11140.6154.08993.284.060.07645.6120.348.15(a) (b) (c)454.72 34101178 96155123467 891011120120150150909060603030Fig. 2.7 Areal averaging of precipitation (a) rain gauge network,(b) Theissen polygons (c) isohyets (Example 2.1)This method is, obviously, better than the arithmetic mean method since it assignssome weightage to all rain gauge stations on area basis. Also, the rain gauge stations outsidethe catchment can also be used effectively. Once the weightage factors for all the rain gaugestations are computed, the calculation of the average rainfall depth P is relatively easy for agiven network of stations.While drawing Theissen polygons, one should first join all the outermost raingaugestations. Thereafter, the remaining stations should be connected suitably to form quadrilaterals.The shorter diagonals of all these quadrilaterals are, then, drawn. The sides of all these trianglesare, then bisected and, thus, Theissen polygons for all raingauge stations are obtained.2.3.3.3. Isohyetal MethodAn isohyet is a contour of equal rainfall. Knowing the depths of rainfall at each rain gaugestation of an area and assuming linear variation of rainfall between any two adjacent stations,one can draw a smooth curve passing through all points indicating the same value of rainfall,Fig. 2.7 (c). The area between two adjacent isohyets is measured with the help of a planimeter.The average depth of rainfall P for the entire area A is given asPA=1Σ [Area between two adjacent isohyets]× [mean of the two adjacent isohyet values] (2.4)Since this method considers actual spatial variation of rainfall, it is considered as thebest method for computing average depth of rainfall.Example 2.1 The average depth of annual precipitation as obtained at the rain gaugestations for a specified area are as shown in Fig. 2.7 (a). The values are in cms. Determine theaverage depth of annual precipitation using (i) the arithmetic mean method, (ii) Theissenpolygon method, and (iii) isohyetal method.Solution: (i) Arithmetic mean method :Using Eq. (2.2), the average depth of annual precipitation,P =111[20.3 + 88.1 + 60.9 + 54.7 + 48.1 + 45.6 + 60.0 + 84.0 + 93.2 + 140.6 + 154.0]=111(849.5) = 77.23 cm.

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HYDROLOGY 49dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 49gauge (or rain gauge) network. Obviously, the density should be as large as possible dependingupon the economic and other considerations such as topography, accessibility etc. The WorldMeteorological Organisation (WMO) recommends the following ideal densities (acceptable valuesgiven in brackets) of the precipitation gauge network (3):1. For flat regions of temperate, mediterranean, and tropical zones, 600 to 900 sq. km(900–3000 sq. km) per station.2. For mountainous regions of temperate, mediterranean, and tropical zones, 100 to 250sq. km (250 to 1000 sq. km) per station.3. For small mountainous islands with irregular precipitation, 25 sq. km per station.4. For arid and polar zones, 1500 to 10,000 sq. km per station.At least ten per cent of rain gauge stations should be equipped with self-recording gaugesto know the intensities of rainfall. The Bureau of Indian Standards (4) recommends the followingdensities for the precipitation gauge network:1. In plains: 520 sq. km per station;2. In regions of average elevation of 1000 m: 260 to 390 sq. km per station; and3. In predominantly hilly areas with heavy rainfall: 130 sq. km per station.For an existing network of raingauge stations, one may need to know the adequacy ofthe raingauge stations and, therefore, the optimal number of raingauge stations N requiredfor a desired accuracy (or maximum error in per cent, ε) in the estimation of the mean rainfall.The optimal number of raingauge stations N is given asN =CvεFHG IKJ2(2.5)Here, Cv = the coefficient of variation of the rainfall values at the existing m stations (inper cent) and is calculated as (Eq. 2.1))Cv =100 1× −σmPin which, σm–1 = standard deviation = imiP Pm∑ −−( )21(2.6)Pi = precipitation measured at ith stationand P = mean precipitation =1mPimi∑FHGIKJFor calculating N, ε is usually taken as 10%. Obviously, the number N would increasewith the decrease in allowable error, ε.Example 2.2 A catchment has eight rain gauge stations. The annual rainfall recordedby these gauges in a given year are as listed in column 2 of the following Table.

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50 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 50Table for computation of (Pi – P)2 (Example 2.2)Rain Gauge Annual Rainfall (cm) Pi – P (Pi – P )2A 80.8 – 32.1 1030.41B 87.6 – 25.3 640.09C 102.0 – 10.9 118.81D 160.8 47.9 2294.41E 120.4 7.5 56.25F 110.8 – 2.1 4.41G 142.3 29.4 864.36H 98.5 – 14.4 207.36Total 903.2 0.0 5216.10What should be the minimum number of the raingauges in the catchment for estimatingthe mean rainfall with an error of less than 7% ?Solution: Mean rainfall, P =11m im=∑ Pi =18 18i =∑ Pi =903 28.= 112.9 cmValues of Pi – P and (Pi – P )2 are as in cols. (3) and (4) of the Table.σm–1 =Σ( )( . )P Pmi −−=21175216 10 = 27.298Cv =100 100 27 298112 91×=×−σmP..= 24.18Therefore, the number of raingauges for errors of less than 7% in estimation of themean annual rainfall=CvεFHG IKJ2=24 1872.FHG IKJ= 11.93, say 12.Hence, four additional raingauges are required in the catchment.2.3.5. Interpretation of Precipitation DataPrecipitation data must be checked for the continuity and consistency before they are analysedfor any significant purpose. This is essential when it is suspected that the gauge site (or itssurroundings) might have changed appreciably during the period for which the average isbeing computed.2.3.5.1. Estimation of Missing DataThe continuity of a record of precipitation data may have been broken with missing data dueto several reasons such as damage (or fault) in a rain gauge during a certain period. Themissing data is estimated using the rainfall data of the neighbouring rain gauge stations. Themissing annual precipitation Px at a station x is related to the annual precipitation values, P1,P2, P3 ...... Pm and normal annual precipitation, N1, N2, N3 ...... Nm at the neighbouring Mstations 1, 2, 3, ...... M respectively. The normal precipitation (for a particular duration) is themean value of rainfall on a particular day or in a month or year over a specified 30-year period.

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HYDROLOGY 51dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 51The 30-year normals are computed every decade. The term normal annual precipitation at anystation is, therefore, the mean of annual precipitations at that station based on 30-year record.The missing annual precipitation Px is simply given asPx =1M(P1 + P2 + ..... Pm) (2.7)if the normal annual precipitations at various stations are within about 10% of the normalannual precipitation at station x i.e., Nx. Otherwise, one uses the normal ratio method whichgivesPx =NMPNPNPNx MM1222+ +LNM OQP...... (2.8)This methods works well when the precipitation regimes of the neighbouring stationsand the station x are similar (or almost the same).Multiple linear regression (amongst precipitation data of M stations and the station x,excluding the unknown missing data of station x and the concurrent (or corresponding) data ofthe neighbouring M stations) will yield an equation of the formPx = a + b1P1 + b2P2 + ...... bmPm (2.9)in which, a ≈ 0and bi ≈NMNxiThe regression method allows for some weighting of the stations and adjusts, to someextent, for departures from the assumption of the normal ratio method.2.3.5.2. Test for Cosistency of Precipitation DataChanges in relevant conditions of a rain gauge (such as gauge location, exposure, instrumen-tation, or observation techniques and surroundings) may cause a relative change in theprecipitation catchment of the rain gauge. The consistency of the precipitation data of suchrain gauges needs to be examined. Double-mass analysis (5), also termed double-mass curvetechnique, compares the accumulated annual or seasonal precipitation at a given station withthe concurrent accumulated values of mean precipitation for a group of the surrounding stations(i.e., base stations). Since the past response is to be related to the present conditions, the data(accumulated precipitation of the station x, i.e., ΣPx and the accumulated values of the averageof the group of the base stations, i.e., ΣPav) are usually assembled in reverse chronologicalorder. Values of ΣPx are plotted against ΣPav for the concurrent time periods, Fig. 2.8. Adefinite break in the slope of the resulting plot points to the inconsistency of the data indicatinga change in the precipitation regime of the station x. The precipitation values at station x atand beyond the period of change is corrected using the relation,Pcx = PxSSca(2.10)where, Pcx = corrected value of precipitation at station x at any time tPx = original recorded value of precipitation at station x at time t.Sc = corrected slope of the double-mass curveSa = original slope of the curve.

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52 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 520 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.800.20.40.60.81.01.21.41.61.82.02.22.4Accumulated annual rainfall of 10 station mean P in units of 10 cmΣ av3AccumulatedannualrainfallatX,Pinunitsof10cmΣX3Break in the year 1993correction ratio = =SScaca19841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000ccaaFig. 2.8 Double-mass curveThus, the older records of station x have been corrected so as to be consistent with thenew precipitation regime of the station x.2.3.6. Presentation of Precipitation DataPrecipitation (or rainfall) data are presented as either a mass curve of rainfall (accumulatedprecipitationv/s time plotted in chronological order, Fig. 2.5) or a hyetograph (rainfall intensityv/s time). Mass curves of rainfall provide the information on the duration and magnitude of astorm. Intensities of rainfall at a given time can be estimated by measuring the slope of thecurve at the specified time. The hyetograph derived from the mass curve, is usually representedas a chart. The area of a hyetograph represents the total precipitation received during theperiod.2.3.7. Depth—Area—Duration (DAD) AnalysisDepth-area-duration (DAD) curves, Fig. 2.9, are plots of accumulated average precipitationversus area for different durations of a storm period. Depth—area—duration analysis of astorm is performed to estimate the maximum amounts of precipitation for different durationsand over different areas. A storm of certain duration over a specified basin area seldom resultsin uniform rainfall depth over the entire specified area. The difference between the maximumrainfall depth over an area P0 and its average rainfall depth P for a given storm, i.e., P0 – Pincreases with increase in the basin area and decreases with increase in the storm duration.The depth-area-duration curve is obtained as explained in the following example :

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HYDROLOGY 53dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 53282420161284010 1021035 × 103Area (km )2Maximumaveragedepth(cm) 12 hours8 hours2 hours1 hourFig. 2.9 DAD curvesExample 2.3 The rainfall data of 8 rain gauge stations located in and around the basin,shown in Fig. 2.10, are as given in the following table :Cumulative rainfall in mm (Example 2.3)Time in Gauge a Gauge b Gauge c Gauge d Gauge e Gauge f Gauge g Gauge hhours2 8 6 5 4 4 3 2 04 14 11 10 8 10 8 7 36 23 20 17 15 17 14 11 88 35 29 26 22 25 18 25 1810 48 42 38 35 35 28 33 24The basin has an area of 5850 km2. Obtain the depth-area-duration curves for 2, 4, and6-hour durations.Solution : Based on the rain gauge data at the end of the storm, isohyets and Thiessenpolygons are drawn on the basin map (Fig. 2.10) as explained in Art. 2.3.3 and in Example 2.1.The isohyets (for 25, 35 and 45 mm) divide the entire basin into three zones, say zone I, zone II,and zone III. The polygon of any rain gauge station may lie in different zones of the basin.Each zone, at any time, will have a representative value of cumulative rainfall which woulddepend upon the rainfall depths of the influencing rain gauge stations at the same time andthe areas of the corresponding polygons falling partly or fully into the zone. The zone I is madeof part of the polygon of the rain gauge station a while the zone II is made up of part polygonsof rain gauge stations a, b, d, and g, and full polygons of the rain gauge stations c and e.Similarly, zone III is made up of part polygons (of the raingauge stations b, d and g) and fullpolygons (of the rain gauge stations f and h). These details are given in the following table :

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54 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 54III III(28)(28)(33)(33)3535ggc (38)c (38)4545a (48)b (42)b (42)e (35)25h(24)25d (35)ffFig. 2.10 Isohyets and Theissen polygons for Example 2.3Area of Theissen polygons of different gauges in different zones (km2)(Example 2.3)Zone Gauge a Gauge b Gauge c Gauge d Gauge e Gauge f Gauge g Gauge h TotalI 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100II 350 1000 1200 100 50 0 200 0 2900III 0 20 0 80 0 1400 1100 250 2850The average cumulative depth of rainfall in any zone at any given time (since thebeginning of the storm) is computed asPj =imij iimijiiA PA==∑∑11( )( )(2.11)where, Pj = average cumulative rainfall depth at a given time for zone j,Aij = Part (or full) area of polygons of rain gauge station i whose polygon is fallingpartly (or fully) in the zone j,Pi = cumulative rainfall depth at the same time, andmi = number of rain gauge stations influencing the average cumulative rainfall depthin zone j.The values of cumulative rainfall depths for all the zones and at different times are

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HYDROLOGY 55dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 55computed and tabulated as below :Cumulative average rainfalls in different zones in mm (Example 2.3)Time Zone I Zone II Zone III2 8 5.45 2.44 14 10.55 7.26 23 18.28 12.398 35 27.9 20.8910 48 40.1 29.87Thereafter, cumulative average rainfalls for the progressively accumulated areas areworked out taking into account appropriate weights in proportion to the areas of the zones.For example, the cumulative average rainfall at a given time over all the three zones would bePI+II+III =A P A P A PA A AI I II II III IIII II III+ ++ +(2.12)where, AI, AII, and AIII are the area of zones I, II, and III, respectively, and PI, PII, and PIII arethe average cumulative depths of rainfall for zones I, II and III, respectively, and at the samespecified time. The computed values are shown in the following Table:Cumulative average rainfalls for progressively accumulated areas in mm(Example 2.3)TimeZone I Zone (I + II) Zone (I + II + III)100 km2 3000 km2 5850 km22 8 5.54 4.014 14 10.67 8.986 23 18.44 15.498 35 28.14 24.6110 48 40.36 35.25Now the maximum average depths of rainfall for the desired durations of 2 hrs, 4 hrsand 6 hrs can be worked out for three areas of 100 km2, 3000 km2 and 5850 km2 and tabulatedas below and plotted as shown in Fig. 2.11.Maximum depths of rainfall for accumulated areas in mm (Example 2.3)2 13 12.22 10.644 25 21.92 19.766 34 29.69 26.27It should be noted that the DAD curves need not be straight line as seen in Fig. 2.11 andthe area axis may be logarithmic.

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56 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 5640302010050001000 2000 3000 40000 6000Area (km )26 hrs4 hrs2 hrsMaximumaveragedepthofrainfall(mm)Fig. 2.11 DAD curves for Example 2.32.3.8. Mean Annual RainfallMean annual rainfall for a given basin/catchment/area is computed as the arithmetic averageof total yearly rainfall for several consecutive years. Mean annual rainfall obtained from rainfallrecords of about 30–40 years is expected to be true long-term mean annual rainfall with anerror of about 2% and is acceptable for all types of engineering problems.2.3.9. Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP)Probable maximum precipitation (PMP) is that magnitude of precipitation which is not likelyto be exceeded for a particular basin at any given time of a year in a given duration. Thus, PMPwould yield a flood which would have virtually no risk of being exceeded in that duration.Obviously, such a precipitation would occur under the most adverse combination of hydrologicaland meteorological conditions in the basin/area. Estimation of PMP is useful for obtaining thedesign flood for the purpose of designing hydraulic structures such as spillways failure ofwhich would result in catastrophic damage to life and property in the surrounding region.PMP can be estimated (6) using either meteorological methods (7) or statistical studiesof rainfall data. One can derive a model (for predicting PMP) based on parameters (such aswind velocity and humidity etc.) of the observed severe storms over the basin and then obtainthe PMP for maximum values of those parameters. Alternatively, one can also estimate thePMP by adopting a severe storm over a neighbouring catchment basin and transposing it tothe catchment/basin under consideration. PMP estimates for North-Indian plains vary fromabout 37 to 100 cm for one-day rainfall.2.4. ABSTRACTIONS FROM PRECIPITATIONPrior to rain water reaching the watershed outlet as surface runoff or stream flow, it has tosatisfy certain demands of the watershed such as interception, depression storage, evaporationand evapotranspiration, and infiltration.A part of precipitation may be caught by vegetation on the ground and subsequently getevaporated. This part of precipitation is termed intercepted precipitation or interception loss(which, incidentally, is the gain for the atmospheric water) which does not include through-fall(the intercepted water that drips off the plant leaves to join the surface runoff) and stemflow(the intercepted water that runs along the leaves, branches and stem of the plants to reach the

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HYDROLOGY 57dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 57ground surface). Interception loss primarily depends on storm characteristics, and type anddensity of vegetation.Part of precipitation which fill up all the depressions on the ground before joining thesurface runoff is called depression storage. It depends primarily on (i) soil characteristics, (ii)magnitude of depressions on the ground and (iii) antecedent precipitation which would decidesoil moisture level.Evaporation is the physical phenomenon by which a liquid is tranformed to a gas. Therate of evaporation of precipitation depends on (i) the vapour pressure of water, (ii) prevailingtemperature, (iii) wind speed, and (iv) atmospheric pressure. Transpiration is a phenomenondue to which water received by the plant through its root system leaves the plant and reachesthe atmosphere in the form of water vapour. Evaporation and transpiration are usuallyconsidered together as evapotranspiration (or consumptive use), Art. 3.7.Infiltration is the passage of water from the soil surface into the soil and is differentthan percolation which is the gravity flow of water within the soil. Infiltration cannot continueunless percolation removes infiltered water from the surface soil. The maximum rate at whicha soil can absorb water at a given time is known as infiltration capacity, fc, expressed in cm/hour. The actual (prevailing) rate of infiltration f at any time is expressed asf = fc if i ≥ fcand f = i, if i < fcwhere, i is the intensity of rainfall. Infiltration capacity depends on several factors such as soilcharacteristics including its moisture content, and vegetation or organic matter. Porosity isthe most important characteristics of soil that affects infiltration. Forest soil, rich in organicmatter, will have relatively higher infiltration capacity, largely because of the correspondingincrease in porosity. Also, infiltration capacity for a given soil decreases with time from thebeginning of rainfall primarily because of increasing degree of saturation of soil. Therefore, itis obvious that the infiltration capacity of a soil would vary over a wide range of values dependingupon several factors. Typical values of fc for sand and clay would be about 12 mm/h and 1.5mm/h, respectively. A good grass cover may increase these values by as much as 10 times.Difficulties in theoretical estimationof infiltration capacity due to its complexityhave led to the use of infiltration indices.The simplest of these indices is the φ-indexdefined as the rate of rainfall above whichthe rainfall volume equals the runoffvolume. This means that other initial losses(such as due to interception, evaporation anddepression storage) are also considered asinfiltration. The φ-index can be obtainedfrom the rainfall hyetograph, Fig. 2.12. Onthis hyetograph is drawn a horizontal linesuch that the shaded area above this lineequals the measured runoff.2.5. RUNOFFPrecipitation (or rainfall), after satisfying the requirements of evapotranspiration, interception,infiltration into the ground, and detention storage, drains off or flows off from a catchment0 1 2 3 4 5 6 700.51.01.52.02.5Rainfallintensity(cm/h)Time (h)Runofff-indexLossesLossesFig. 2.12 φ-index

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58 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 58basin as an overland flow (or surface runoff which includes precipitation falling on the streamsystem too) into a stream channel. Some part of the infiltrating water moves laterally throughthe upper layers of the soil and returns to the ground surface as interflow or subsurface runoffat some place away from the point of infiltration into the soil. Part of the infiltrating waterpercolates deep into the ground and joins the ground water storage. When water table intersectsthe stream channels of the catchment basin, some ground water may reach the surface or jointhe stream as ground water runoff, also called base flow or dry-weather flow. Thus, the runofffrom a catchment includes surface runoff, subsurface runoff and base flow. The surface runoffstarts soon after the precipitation and is the first to join the stream flow. Subsurface runoff isslower and joins the stream later. Depending upon the time taken by the subsurface runoffbetween the infiltration and joining the stream channel, it may be termed as prompt subsurfacerunoff or delayed subsurface runoff. The groundwater runoff is the slowest in joining the streamchannel but, is responsible in maintaining low flows in the stream during dry season. Based onthe time interval between the precipitation and runoff, the runoff is categorized as directrunoff (that enters the stream immediately after precipitationi.e., surface runoff and subsurfacerunoff) and base flow (i.e., ground water runoff). Runoff, thus is the response of a catchment tothe precipitation reflecting the combined effects of the nature of precipitation, other climaticcharacteristics of the region, and the physiographic characteristics of the catchment basin.Type, intensity, duration and areal distribution of precipitation over the catchment arethe chief characeteristics of the precipitation that affect the stream flow. Precipitation in theform of rainfall is quicker to appear as stream flow than when it is in the form of snow. For thesurface runoff to start, the intensity of rainfall (or precipitation) must exceed the infiltrationcapacity of the soil which decreases with the increase in the duration of rainfall. It is, therefore,obvious that a longer duration rainfall may produce higher runoff even if the intensity ofrainfall is less but, of course, exceeding the infiltration capacity of the soil. Heavy rainfalls inthe downstream region of the catchment will cause rapid rise in the stream levels and earlypeaking of the discharge. A rare occurrence of uniformly distributed rainfall may result inincreased infiltration and, therefore, increased subsurface runoff and base flow resulting inslow rise in levels and delayed peaking of the discharge. Likewise, antecedent higher soilmoisture conditions at the time of precipitation would hasten the rise in the stream levels.Other climatic characteristics influencing the runoff are temperature, wind velocity,and relative humidity. These characteristics affect the evapotranspiration and thus influencethe availability of the precipitation for runoff. Physiographic characteristics affecting the runoffhave been discussed in Art. 2.7.2.5.1. Runoff—Rainfall RelationsYield of a river is the total quantity of water that flows in a stream during a given period. Onecan estimate the yield of a river by either correlating stream flow and rainfall or using someempirical equation or some kind of simulation.By plotting measured stream flow i.e., Runoff R versus corresponding rainfall P anddrawing a best-fit line (or curve), one can establish an approximate relationship between rainfalland runoff. Alternatively, one can establish rainfall-runoff relationship using regressionanalysis.Some empirical relations have been developed using the observed rainfall and runoff forstreams of a given region. Such relations, therefore, have limitations to their applicability onlyto specific regions.Based on his studies of small catchments (less than about 150 km2) of U.P., Barlowexpressed the runoff R as (8)

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60 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 60For Tm ≤ 4.5°C, the monthly loss may be assumed as follows:Tm°C 4.5 – 1 – 6.5Lm (cm) 2.17 1.78 1.52Annual runoff =imiR=∑112This formula is found to give fairly good estimates of runoff.Using hydrologic water-budget equation, runoff R can be expressed asR = P – Eet – ∆S (2.18)where, Eet is actual evapotranspiration and ∆S is the change in soil moisture storage. Boththese parameters depend upon the catchment characteristics and the regional climaticconditions. With the help of available data and computers (to handle large mass of data), onecan develop a mathematical relationship (i.e., model) incorporating interdependence ofparameters involved. This watershed model is, then, calibrated i.e., the numerical values ofvarious coefficients of the model are determined using part of the data available. The remainingavailable data are used for validation of the model. Once the model is validated satisfactorily,it becomes a handy tool to predict the runoff for a given rainfall.Another technique that can be used for computer simulation of watershed is artificialneural network (ANN) which is being increasingly employed for predicting such quantitieswhich cannot be expressed in the form of mathematical expressions due to inadequateunderstanding of the influence of all the factors that affect the quantities.2.6. STREAM FLOW2.6.1. Flow Characteristics of a StreamThe flow characteristics of a stream depend upon (i) the intensity and duration of rainfallbesides spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall, (ii) shape, soil, vegetation, slope, anddrainage network of the catchment basin, and (iii) climatic factors influencingevapotranspiration. Based on the characteristics of yearly hydrograph (graphical plot of dis-charge versus time in chronological order), one can classify streams into the following threetypes:(i) Perennial streams which have some flow, Fig. 2.13, at all times of a year due toconsiderable amount of base flow into the stream during dry periods of the year. Thestream bed is, obviously, lower than the ground water table in the adjoining aquifer(i.e., water bearing strata which is capable of storing and yielding large quantity ofwater).2 4 6 8 10 12DecTime (Months)DischargeFig. 2.13 Temporal variation of discharge in perennial streams

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HYDROLOGY 61dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 61(ii) Intermittent streams have limited contribution from the ground water and that tooduring the wet season only when the ground water table is above the stream bedand, therefore, there is base flow contributing to the stream flow, Fig. 2.14. Except-ing for some occasional storm that can produce short duration flow, such streamsremain dry for most of the dry season periods of a year.2 4 6 8 10 12DecTime (Months)DischargeFig. 2.14 Temporal variation of discharge in intermittent streams(iii) Ephemeral streams do not have any contribution from the base flow. The annualhydrograph, Fig. 2.15, of such a stream shows series of short duration hydrographsindicating flash flows in response to the storm and the stream turning dry soon afterthe end of the storm. Such streams, generally found in arid zones, do not have well-defined channels.2 4 6 8 10 12DecTime (Months)DischargeFig. 2.15 Temporal variation of discharge in ephemeral streamsStreams are also classified as effluent (streams receiving water from ground waterstorage) and influent (streams contributing water to the ground water storage) streams. Effluentstreams are usually perennial while the influent streams generally remain dry during longperiods of dry spell.2.6.2. Graphical Representation of Stream FlowThe stream flow data are usually recorded in tabular form. For analyzing these data, one hasto prepare graphical plots of the stream flow data such as hydrograph, flow-duration curve,flow-mass curve or simply mass curve etc. Hydrograph is a graphical plot between discharge(on y-axis) and the corresponding time (days or months or even hours). Hydrograph analysis is

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62 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 62dealt with separately in Art. 2.7. Description of the mass curve and flow-duration curve hasbeen included in this article.2.6.2.1. Flow-Mass CurvesFlow-mass curve or runoff-mass curve or inflow mass curve or simply mass curve is cumulativeflow volume V versus time curve. The mass curve ordinate V (m3 or ha.m or cumec-day) at anytime t (in days or weeks or months) is given asV =tT0z Q . dt (2.19)where, t0 is the time at the beginning of the curve. Obviously, mass curve, Fig. 2.16, is anintegral (i.e., summation) curve of a given hydrograph, Art. 2.7. Also, slope of the mass curveat any point on the plot i.e., dV/dt equals the rate of stream flow (i.e., stream discharge) atthat time. Mass curve is always a rising curve or horizontal (when there is no inflow or runoffadded into the stream) and is a useful means by which one can calculate storage capacity of areservoir to meet specified demand as well as safe yield of a reservoir of given capacity.1970 1971 1972 1973YearMassinflow(Hectare–metre)StoragerefillingSpillingDepletingLKJHIGFA BCEMax. spillDMass-flow curveSlope = Ha-m/yrDemandline1 yearDemand rate = slopeHectaremeterXXFig. 2.16 Reservoir capacity from mass-flow curveSlope of the cumulative demand curve (usually a line since the demand rate is generallyconstant) is the demand rate which is known. The reservoir is assumed to be full at the beginningof a dry period (i.e., when the withdrawal or demand rate exceeds the rate of inflow into thereservoir) such as A in Fig. 2.16. Draw line AD (i.e., demand line) such that it is tangential tothe mass curve at A and has a slope of the demand rate. Obviously, between A and B (wherethere is maximum difference between the demand line and the mass curve) the demand islarger than the inflow (supply) rate and the reservoir storage would deplete. Between B and D,however, the supply rate is higher than the demand rate and the reservoir would get refilled.The maximum difference in the ordinates of the demand line and mass curve between A and D

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HYDROLOGY 63dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 63(i.e., BC) represents the volume of water required as storage in the reservoir to meet thedemand from the time the reservoir was full i.e., A in Fig. 2.16. If the mass curve is for a largetime period, there may be more than one such duration of dry periods. One can, similarly,obtain the storages required for those durations (EH and IL in Fig. 2.16). The largest of thesestorages (BC, FG and JK in Fig. 2.16) is the required storage capacity of the reservoir to beprovided on the stream in order to meet the demand.For determining the safe yield of (or maintainable demand by) a reservoir of given capacityone needs to draw tangents from the apex points (A, E andI of Fig. 2.16) such that the maximumdifference between the tangent and the mass curve equals the given capacity of the reservoir.The slopes of these tangents equals to the safe yield for the relevant dry period. The smallestslope of these slopes is, obviously, the firm dependable yield of the reservoir.It should be noted that a reservoir gets refilled only if the demand line intersects themass curve. Non-intersection of the demand line with the mass curve indicates inflow which isinsufficient to meet the given demand. Also, the vertical difference between points D and Erepresents the spilled volume of water over the spillway.The losses from reservoir (such as due to evaporation and seepage into the ground orleakage) in a known duration can either be included in the demand rates or deducted frominflow rates.In practice, demand rates for irrigation, power generation or water supply vary withtime. For such situations, mass curve of demand is superposed over the flow-mass curve withproper matching of time. If the reservoir is full at the first intersection of the two curves, themaximum intercept between the two curves represents the required storage capacity of thereservoir to meet the variable demand.Example 2.4 The following Table gives the mean monthly flows of a stream during aleap year. Determine the minimum storage required to satisfy a demand (inclusive of losses)rate of 50 m3/s.Data and computation of mass curve (Example 2.4)MonthMean monthly Days in month Monthly flow Accumulatedflow (m3/s) volume volume(cumec-day) (cumec-day)January 60 31 1860 1860February 50 29 1450 3310March 40 31 1240 4550April 28 30 840 5390May 12 31 372 5762June 20 30 600 6362July 50 31 1550 7912August 90 31 2790 10702September 100 30 3000 13702October 80 31 2480 16182November 75 30 2250 18432December 70 31 2170 20602

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64 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 64Solution: Actual number of days in a month (Col. 3 of the Table) are used for calculatingmonthly flow volume (Col. 4 of the Table). Mass curve of the accumulated flow versus time isshown plotted in Fig. 2.17. For the mass curve and demand rate, all months are assumed to beof equal duration i.e., 30.5 days. A demand line (with a slope of line PR) is drawn tangential tothe mass flow curve at A. Another line parallel to this line is drawn so that it is tangential tothe mass-flow curve at B. The vertical difference BC (= 2850 cumec-day) is the required storagefor satisfying the demand rate of 50 m3/s.Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec0246810121416182021Accumulatedmassinflowvolume(1000cumec-day)Mass flow curveDemand - 50 m /sStorage - 2850 cumec-day3Demand lineC28502850BA P61 × 51= 3050 cumec-day61 × 51= 3050 cumec-dayR61 days(2 months)Fig. 2.17 Mass-flow curve and demand line for Example 2.4

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HYDROLOGY 65dharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 652.6.2.2. Flow-Duration CurveFlow-duration curve (or discharge-frequency curve) of a stream is a graphical plot of streamdischarge against the corresponding per cent of time the stream discharge was equalled orexceeded. The flow-duration curve, therefore, describes the variability of the stream flow andis useful for(i) determining dependable flow which information is required for planning of waterresources and hydropower projects,(ii) designing a drainage system, and(iii) flood control studies.For preparing a flow-duration curve, the stream flow data (individual values or range ofvalues) are arranged in a descending order of stream discharges. If the number of suchdischarges is very large, one can use range of values as class intervals. Percentage probabilityPp of any flow (or class value) magnitude Q being equalled or exceeded is given asPp =mN + 1× 100(%) (2.20)in which m is the order number of the discharge (or class value) and N is the number of datapoints in the list. The discharge Q is plotted against Pp to yield flow-duration curve, as shownin Figs. 2.18 and 2.19. The ordinate Q at any percentage probability Pp represents the flowmagnitude in an average year that can be expected to be equalled or exceeded Pp perc ent oftime and is termed as Pp% dependable discharge (or flow). The discharge Q in the flow-durationcurve could be either daily average or monthly (usually preferred) average.0 20 40 60 80P (%)p01020304050Discharge,Q(m/s)3P for Q = 30 m /s31.5 %p3Q = 15.5 m /s753Fig. 2.18 Flow-duration curve for Example 2.5

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66 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-1.pm5 660020 40 60 80 100p (%)p20406080100120140DischargeQ(m/s)3Q80 = 37 m /s3Fig. 2.19 Flow-duration curve for Example 2.6Example 2.5 The observed mean monthly flows of a stream for a water year (June 01 toMay 31) are as given in the first two columns of the following Table. Plot the flow-durationcurve and estimate the flow that can be expected 75% of the time in a year (i.e., 75% dependableflow, Q75) and also the dependability (i.e., Pp) of the flow of magnitude 30 m3/s.

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68 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 68Solution: Column 6 of the Table shows the total number of days in a period of 4 yearsfor which the discharge in that class (Col. 1) was flowing in the stream. Column 7 gives thecumulative total of the values of column 6. The probability of flow in the class interval beingequalled or exceeded is obtained from Eq. (2.20) and tabulated in column 8. The smallest valueof discharge in a class (Col. 1) is plotted against Pp (col. 8) as shown in Fig. 2.19. From thisfigure, one can obtain the desired value of 80% dependable flow as 37 m3/s.2.7. HYDROGRAPHSConsider a concentrated storm producing a short-duration and reasonably uniform rainfall ofduration tr over a watershed. Part of this rainfall is retained on the land surface as detentionstorage. Yet another part of the rainfall infiltrates into the soil. The remaining part of therainfall is termed rainfall excess (or effective rainfall) that is neither retained on the landsurface nor infiltrated into the soil. This effective rainfall reaches the watershed outlet afterflowing over the watershed surface. The flow over the watershed surface builds up some storageboth in the overland and channel flow phases. This storage gradually depletes when the rainfallhas ceased. There is, thus, a time lag between the occurrence of rainfall over a watershed andthe time when the rainfall excess reaches the gauging station at the watershed outlet in theform of direct runoff. The runoff measured at the gauging station would typically vary withtime as shown by the curve AMCE in the graph (known as hydrograph) of Fig. 2.20. Thehydrograph is, therefore, the response of a given catchment (or watershed) to a rainfall inputand can be regarded as an integral expression of the physiographic and climatic characteristicsof the region that decide the rainfall-runoff relationship. It comprises all three phases of runoff,viz., surface runoff, interflow and base flow. Therefore, two different storms over the samewatershed would, invariably, produce hydrographs of different shapes (i.e., peak rate ofdischarge, time base etc.) Likewise, identical storms over different watersheds would alsoproduce different hydrographs.Time in daysDischargeBAtPktPkDTTC ERecession limbPoint of inflectionCrest segmentMN daysN daysPeakRising limbFig. 2.20 Base flow separationThe inter-relationship among rainfall, watershed and climatic characteristics is,generally, very complex and so is the shape of the resulting hydrograph (having kinks, multiplepeaks etc.) much different from the simple single-peaked hydrograph of Fig. 2.20.

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HYDROLOGY 69dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 69A single-peaked hydrograph, Fig. 2.20, consists of (i) a rising limb, (ii) the crest segment,and (iii) the recession or falling limb. The rising limb (or concentration curve) of a hydrographrepresents continuous increase in discharge (or runoff) at the watershed outlet. During theinitial periods of the storm, the increase in runoff is rather gradual as the falling precipitationhas to meet the initial losses in the form of high infiltration, depression storage and gradualbuilding up of storage in channels and over the watershed surface. As the storm continues,losses decrease with time and more and more rainfall excess from distant parts of the watershedreaches the watershed outlet. The runoff, then, increases rapidly with time. When the runofffrom all parts of the watershed reaches the watershed outlet simultaneously, the runoff attainsthe peak (i.e., maximum) value. This peak flow is represented by the crest segment of thehydrograph. The recession limb of the hydrograph starts at the point of inflection (i.e., the endof the crest segment) and continues till the commencement of the natural ground water flow.The recession limb represents the withdrawal of water from the storage (in the channelsand over the watershed surface) that was built-up during the initial periods of the storm. Thepoint of inflection i.e., the starting point of recession limb represents the condition of maximumstorage in the channels and over the watershed surface. After the cession of the rainfall, thisstorage starts depleting. Therefore, the shape of the recession limb depends only on thewatershed characteristics and is independent of the storm characteristics. The shape of thehydrograph is mainly influenced by the physiographic characteristics of the watershed(described briefly in the following paragraph) and the climatic characteristics of the region(dealt with in Art. 2.5).Physiographic characteristics of a catchment basin influencing the runoff and, therefore,the shape of the hydrograph include area, shape, elevation, slope, and orientation of the basinbesides the type of soil, land use, and drainage network. All other conditions remaining thesame, a larger basin area results in smaller peak flow with a larger time base of the hydrograph(i.e., relation depicting variability of stream discharge with time in chronological order) andbetter sustainable minimum flow in the stream due to the possibility of delayed subsurfacerunoff and base flow.Different shapes (elongated or broad) of a catchment basin can be represented by theform factor defined as the ratio of average width to the axial length of the basin. In an elongatedbasin (form factor < 1), the precipitation falling at the farthest upstream end of the basin willtake longer time to reach the downstream outlet end of the basin. This would, therefore,result in larger time base of the hydrograph with lesser peak flow. Catchment basin withhigher slope would, obviously, hasten rise in the stream levels and peaking of the stream flow.Orientation of basins with respect to the sun would decide the magnitude of evapotranspirationand, thus, influence the runoff. Temperature, precipitation and other climatic characteristicsof a region are influenced also by the mean elevation which, therefore, affects the runoffindirectly.Soil characteristics affect the infiltration capacity and, hence, the runoff. A soil withhigh porosity increases the infiltration and, therefore, reduces the peak flow in the stream.Similarly, a forest area has larger capacity to retain water in its densely vegetated surfaceand, hence, reduces the peak flow (i.e., flooding) in the stream.Over a period of time a network of natural rivulets (i.e., smaller stream channels) developin a drainage basin. These channels act as tributaries to the main stream of the drainagebasin. A well-developed network of these smaller channels (i.e., drains) collect the precipitationand transport it quickly to the outlet end of the basin without giving much opportunity to the

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70 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 70precipitation to infiltrate into the ground. Therefore, peak flows in the stream would be higher.Minimum flows, however, are likely to be lower due to lesser infiltration.2.7.1. Hydrograph AnalysisHydrograph represents the temporal variation of total runoff at a gauging point in a stream.The total runoff includes both direct and ground water runoff. In hydrologic studies, one needsto establish a suitable relationship between surface flow hydrograph and the effective rainfall.Surface flow (or direct runoff) hydrograph is obtained by subtracting base flow (i.e., groundwater runoff) from the total storm (or runoff) hydrograph. Division of a total runoff hydrographinto direct and ground water runoffs for subsequent analysis to analyse hydrologic problems istermed hydrograph separation or hydrograph analysis. There is no ready basis for differentiatingbetween direct and ground water runoffs which have been defined rather arbitrarily. Therefore,the method of hydrograph separation too is arbitrary only.For the purpose of unit hydrograph (Art. 2.7.2) theory, the hydrograph separation shouldbe such that the time base of the direct runoff remains almost the same for different storms ofthe catchment basin. This can be attained by terminating the direct runoff at a fixed time afterthe time of occurrence of the peak of the hydrograph. The time interval N (in days) from theinstant of occurrence of the peak to the time marking the end of the direct runoff (point C inFig. 2.20) is empirically expressed as (9)N = bA0.2 (2.21)Here, A is the drainage area in km2 and b is a coefficient ranging from 0.8 to 0.85. Thepoint A in Fig. 2.20 marks the beginning of the direct runoff and is identified easily as thepoint at the beginning of the rising limb where there is sharp increase in the runoff rate. LineAC provides the simplest method of base flow separation. The ordinates of hydrograph withrespect to line AC, therefore, give the magnitudes of the direct runoff at the relevant time.The most widely used method for hydrograph separation cosists of extending the recession(or base flow) curve existing before the commencement of the direct runoff (due to the stormunder consideration) till it intersects the ordinate passing through peak of the hydrograph (atpoint B). Line segments AB and BC demarcate the separation between the surface runoff andbase flow. The method is based on the reasoning that as the stream level rises there is flowfrom the stream into the banks of the stream. Therefore, the base flow (into the stream)should continuously decrease until the stream level starts falling and bank storage begins toreturn into the stream. It is, however, assumed that the decrease in base flow (i.e., AB) conformsto the usual recession existing prior to the storm.In yet another method of base flow separation, the base flow recession curve (after thedepletion of flood water as at E) is extended backward till it intersects the ordinate throughthe point of inflection on the recession limb at D. Points A and D are joined arbitrarily by asmooth curve. This method is preferred when the ground water contribution is expected to besignificant and likely to reach the stream quickly.After hydrograph separation, one can obtain surface (or direct) runoff hydrograph (DRH).2.7.2. Unit HydrographA unit hydrograph (or unit-Graph) is the direct runoff hydrograph resulting from one centimeter(or one millimeter or one inch) of excess rainfall generated uniformly over a catchment area ata constant rate for an effective duration (1). The unit hydrograph for a catchment basin is thedirect runoff hydrograph produced by a unit (usually 1 cm) rainfall excess from a storm of

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HYDROLOGY 71dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 71D-hour duration and, therefore, is the lumped repsonse of the basin to the storm. The unithydrograph is a simple linear model that is most widely used for obtaining the surface runoffhydrograph resulting from any amount of excess rainfall. The physical characteristics of acatchment basin (shape, size, slope etc.) remain invariant to a large extent. Therefore, one mayexpect considerable similarity in the hydrographs of different storms of similar rainfallcharacteristics. This forms the basis of the unit hydrograph first proposed by Sherman (10).The unit hydrograph is a typical hydrograph for a catchment basin and is so called becausethe runoff volume under the hydrograph is adjusted to 1 cm (or 1 mm or 1 inch) equivalentdepth over the basin. It should, however, be noted that the variable characteristics of storms(such as rainfall duration, time-intensity pattern, areal distribution, magnitude of rainfall) docause variations in the shape of the resulting hydrographs. Therefore, it would be incorrect toimply that only one typical hydrograph would suffice for any catchment basin. The followingbasic assumptions are inherent in the unit hydrograph theory (1) :1. The excess rainfall has a constant intensity (1/D cm/hr) within effective storm durationof D hours.2. The excess rainfall (giving rise to 1 cm depth of runoff) is uniformly distributedthroughout the entire catchment basin.3. The base time of direct runoff hydrograph (i.e., the duration of the direct runoff)resulting from an excess rainfall of given duration is constant.4. The ordinates of all direct runoff hydrographs of a common base time are directlyproportional to the total amount of direct runoff represented by each hydrograph. This meansthat a rainfall excess of r cm due to a storm of duration D hours in a catchment basin willproduce a direct runoff hydrograph whose ordinates would be r times the correspondingordinates of a D-hour unit hydrograph of the basin.5. For a given catchment basin, the hydrograph, resulting from a given excess rainfall,reflects the unchanging characteristics of the catchment basin.2.7.3. Derivation of Unit HydrographThe unit hydrograph is best derived from the hydrograph of an isolated storm (i.e., occurringindividually) of reasonably uniform intensity during its duration (of desired magnitude) ofoccurrence covering the entire catchment basin, and resulting into a relatively large runoffvolume. The hydrograph of such a storm of duration, say, D hour is separated (Art. 2.7.1) andthe direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) is obtained. From this DRH, volume of direct runoff (areaunder the hydrograph) is determined in terms of the depth (i.e., runoff depth) over the catchmentbasin. The ordinates of the DRH are divided by the runoff depth to obtain the ordinates of theD-hour unit hydrograph (for unit runoff depth). A unit hydrograph derived from a single stormmay not be truly representative unit hydrograph for the given catchment basin. Therefore, fora given catchment basin, a number of unit hydrographs of a specified duration (say D hours)are derived using as many isolated storm hydrographs (which will not be identical due tovariable storm characteristics) caused by storms of almost the same duration (0.9 to 1.1 Dhours) and also satisfying the above-stated requirements as much as possible or feasible. Theseare, then, plotted and an average unit hydrograph, Fig. 2.21, is obtained. The ordinates of theaveraged unit hydrograph should not be an arithmetic average of superposed ordinates becauseif peaks of different unit hydrographs do not occur at the same time, the average peak sodetermined will be lower than any individual peak (Fig. 2.21). The proper procedure is tocompute average peak flow, average of times of occurrences of individual peak flows, and the

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72 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 72average of base lengths. Thereafter, the average unit hydrograph is sketched so as to conformto the shape of other unit hydrographs, passing through the average peak at the averagedtime to peak and having base length equal to the averaged base length. The volume of directrunoff for this unit hydrograph should, obviously, be unit depth and any departure from unitdepth is corrected by suitable adjustments (including adjusting the peak) to the unit hydrograph,Fig. 2.21. It is usual to draw average effective rainfall hydrograph of unit depth alongside theunit hydrograph to indicate the duration of rainfall producing the unit hydrograph.Time in hours0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 800102030405060Discharge(m/s)30 6 h1 cm Rainfall excessAverage peakCurve defined byarithmetic averageAverage unit hydrographFig. 2.21 Average unit hydrographIt is rare to find a suitable storm of desired characteristics (as outlined earlier) for thederivation of a unit hydrograph. More often than not, one is required to derive unit hydrographsusing the data of two or more closely-spaced storms (i.e., complex storms) resulting into ahydrograph having two or more peaks. In such cases, it is necessary to separate the runoffcaused by individual bursts of rainfall and, then, separate direct runoff from base flow. Ifindividual bursts of rain in the complex storm result in well-defined peaks, it is possible toseparate the hydrographs (i.e., separating the direct and base runoff). Averaging of the unithydrographs would minimize the errors in the separation process. Consider the complexhydrograph shown in Fig. 2.22. Separation of runoff caused by the two bursts of rainfall isaccomplished by extending (in a way similar to the recession curve TF) the small segment ofrecession (PQ) between the two peaks. Base flow separation can now be completed by drawingABC and EF, Fig. 2.22. Obviously, the area ABCEFTRQPA equals the direct runoff volumefrom rainfalls J and K. One can now proceed to derive the unit hydrograph in the usual manner.

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HYDROLOGY 73dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 73Dischargeinm/s3Time in daysAB CEFTQRPRain-JRain-KN = A days0.2Fig. 2.22 Analysis of complex hydrographsA unit hydrograph can also be developed through sucessive approximations. A suitableD-hour unit hydrograph is assumed and used to obtain the storm hydrograph corresponding toa given rainfall of the duration D hours which should, obviously, match with the observedstorm hydrograph for the given rainfall. If the two storm hydrographs do not match to theacceptable accuracy, the assumed unit hydrograph is suitably modified and the process repeateduntil a unit hydrograph that gives the best matching is obtained.2.7.4. Conversion of the Duration of Unit HydrographPreparing unit hydrographs for a given catchment and covering wide range of durations isusually not possible due to lack of data. Therefore, one needs to convert an existing or derivedunit hydrograph for one storm duration (say, D hours) to another (say, nD hours) that could beeither shorter (to better cope with spatial and intensity variations) or longer (to reduce thecomputational work and also recognizing the coarseness of the available data). The followingtwo methods are used for the conversion of the duration of a given unit hydrograph:1. Method of superposition2. Summation curve (or S-curve) method.2.7.4.1. Method of SuperpositionIf n number of D-hour unit hydrographs, each one separated from the previous one by D hour,are added, one would obtain a characteristic hydrograph for n units of rainfall excess andnD-hour duration. Dividing the ordinates of this characteristic hydrograph by n would,obviously, yield a unit hydrograph (with unit rainfall excess) of duration equal to nD hours.Figure 2.23 illustrates the method of superposition which, obviously, requires n to be an integer.When n is not an integer, the summation curve (or S-curve) method is to be used.

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74 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 74Sum of 4-hr unit hydrographs4-hr unit hydrograph8-hr unit hydrograph (derived)3025201510500 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 30DischargeincumecsTime in hoursFig. 2.23 Derivation of unit hydrograph of duration 2t from t-h UH2.7.4.2. Summation Curve (or S-Curve) MethodTheS-curve (orS-hydrograph) is a direct runoff hydrograph resulting from a continuous effectiverainfall of uniform intensity. The S-curve is obtained by adding together a series of unithydrographs of, say, D-hour duration each lagged by D hour in relation to the preceding one(Fig. 2.24). The intensity of effective rainfall for this S-hydrograph would, therefore, be 1/Dcm/hr. This means that each S-curve applies to a specific duration D within which one unit ofdirect runoff is generated. If the time base of the D-hour unit hydrograph is T hour (Fig. 2.20),then a continuous rainfall producing one unit of runoff in every period of D hours would yielda constant outflow at the end of T hours. Therefore, one needs to combine only T/D unithydrographs to produce an S-curve whose equilibrium flow rate Qe (in m3/s) would be theproduct of area of the catchment basin and the intensity of the effective rainfall (or rainfallexcess) i.e., 1/D cm/hr =FHG IKJ1100 Dm / hr .∴ Qe = (A × 106)1100 DFHG IKJ m3/hr=AD×FHG IKJ104m3/hr (2.22)where, A = area of the catchment basin in km2, andD = duration in hours of the effective rainfall of the unit hydrograph.

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HYDROLOGY 75dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 75Rainfall excess 1/D cm/hrS-Curve60504030201000 4 8 12 16 20 24 24 32Time in hoursDischargeinm/s3Fig. 2.24 Illustration of S-hydrograph (or S-curve)Alternatively, Qe = (A × 106)1100 DFHG IKJ 160160×FHG IKJ m3/sQe = 2.78ADm3/s ...(2.23)The S-curve ordinates sometimes oscillate at and around the equilibrium discharge.This may be due to the unit hydrograph (used for the derivation of the S-curve) which mighthave been derived from storms not satisfying the requirements of an ideal storm for thederivation of the unit hydrograph. An average S-curve can, however, be still drawn so as toattain the equilibrium discharge rather smoothly. The S-curve, obtained from a D-hour unithydrograph of a catchment basin, can be used to obtain unit hydrograph (for the same catchment,of course) of another duration, say, D′ hour as explained in the following steps :1. Draw two S-curves (obtained from a D-hour unit hydrograph) with their initial pointsdisplaced on time axis by D′ hour, Fig. 2.25.2. The effective rainfall hyetographs (ERH) producing these two S-curves are also drawnin the same figure. The two ERH are also displaced by D′ hour. The difference between thesetwo effective rainfall hyetographs represents a storm of duration D′ with an intensity of 1/Dcm/hr and, hence, a rainfall of magnitude D′/D cm.3. The difference between the ordinates of the two S-curves at any time [i.e. S(t)-S (t –D′)] gives the ordinate of a direct runoff hydrograph at that time, Fig. 2.25. This hydrograph is,obviously, for the storm of duration D′ with an intensity of 1/D cm/hr having rainfall excess ofD′/D cm which is the runoff volume.

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76 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 76D¢Lagged s-curveLagged s-curveS-CurveS-CurveS( t )S( t ) S( t – D )¢S( t – D )¢[S( t ) – S( t – D )]¢[S( t ) – S( t – D )]¢Difference graphttD¢DischargeDischargeExcess rainfall at cm/hr1DTime in hoursFig. 2.25 Derivation of D′ hour UH by S-curve method4. Compute the ordinates of the D′-hour unit hydrograph by multiplying the S-curvedifferences [i.e., S(t) – S(t – D′)] with the ratio D/D′.Earlier, it has been stated that one requires combining T/D unit hydrographs suitablyfor obtaining a S-curve. However, one can construct S-curve without requiring to tabulate andadding T/D unit hydrographs with successive time lags of D hours. The difference of two-S-curves (derived from a D-hour unit hydrograph) lagged by D hour itself is nothing but the D-hour unit hydrograph itself. Therefore, the ordinate U(t) of a D-hour unit hydrograph at anytime t is given asU(t) = S(t) – S (t – D)or S(t) = U(t) + S(t – D) (2.24)The term S(t – D) is called the S-curve addition which is an ordinate of S-curve itself butat time (t – D). It may be noted that for t ≤ D.S(t) = U(t) (2.25)And for t > D, one has to use Eq. (2.24) for constructing S-curve.2.7.4.3. Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph (IUH)As the duration D of unit hydrograph is reduced, the intensity of rainfall excess i.e., 1/Dincreases, and the unit hydrograph becomes more skewed with its peak occurring earlier, Fig.2.26. The fictitious case of unit hydrograph of zero duration is known as instantaneous unithydrograph which represents the direct runoff from the catchment due to an instantaneousprecipitation of the rainfall excess volume of 1 cm.

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HYDROLOGY 77dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 77A ERHBCD CUnit hydrographABDDischargeinm/s3Time in hoursFig. 2.26 Unit hydrographs of different durations2.7.4.4. Synthetic Unit HydrographUnit hydrographs can be derived only if suitable records of data for the catchment are available.Many of the catchments, especially the remote ones, remain ungauged. To derive unithydrographs for such basins, one requires suitable empirical relations of regional validity whichrelate basin characteristics and the salient features of resulting hydrographs. Such relationsusually pertain to time to peak, peak flow and time base of the unit hydrograph. Unithydrographs derived in this manner are known as synthetic unit hydrograph. Dimensionlessunit hydrographs (Q/Qp versus t/tpk) based on a study of large number of unit hydrographs arealso used to derive synthetic unit hydrograph.2.7.4.5. Use and Limitations of Unit HydrographUnit hydrograph is useful for (i) the development of flood hydrographs for extreme rainfallsfor use in the design of hydraulic structures, (ii) extension of flood-flow records based on rainfalldata, and (iii) development of flood forecasting and warning system based on rainfall.In very large catchment basins, storms may not meet the conditions of constant intensitywithin effective storm duration and uniform areal distribution. Therefore, each storm maygive different direct runoff hydrograph under, otherwise, identical conditions. Therefore, unithydrograph is considered applicable for catchments having area less than about 5000 km2 (9).Very large catchments are usually divided into smaller sub-basins and the hydrographs ofthese sub-basins are processed to obtain composite hydrgraph at the basin outlet.The application of unit hydrograph also requires that the catchment area should not besmaller than about 200 ha as for such small basins there are other factors which may affect therainfall-runoff relation and the derived unit hydrograph may not be accurate enough.Example 2.7 The following Table lists the ordinates of a runoff hydrograph in responseto a rainfall of 21.90 mm during the first two hours, 43.90 mm in the next two hours, and 30.90mm during the last two hours of the rainfall which lasted for six hours on July 19, 1995 in

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78 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 78Warasgaon catchment basin whose area is 133.1 km2 (Source: M.Tech. Dissertation on‘‘Rainfall—runoff modelling of Mutha river system’’ by S.R. Vhatkar submitted at theDepartment of Hydrology, University of Rookee in 1996).Time (hr) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18Discharge (m3/s) 0 171 393 522 297 133 51 10 10 10Obtain the following :(a) φ-index(b) unit hydrograph and its duration (say, T hours)(c) time of concentration, TcThereafter, derive the following :(i) Unit hydrographs for 2T and 3T hours(ii) T-hr unit hydrograph from the derived 2T-hr unit hydrographSolution: On plotting the runoff hydrograph, Fig. 2.27 (a), one notices that the streamflow stabilizes at 10 m3/s. This must be on account of the base flow contribution.60050040030020010000 5 10 15 20Runoff hydrographBase flow lineTime ( hrs )Discharge(cumecs)Fig. 2.27 (a) Runoff hydrograph and base flow (Example 2.7)Therefore, treating the base flow as 10 m3/s at time t = 14 hrs, the base flow line isobtained by assuming linear variation between t = 0 and t = 14 hrs. The values of the base flow(Col. 3 of Table A for this example) have been subtracted from the corresponding values of therunoff hydrograph (Col. 2 of Table A) to obtain the ordinates of the direct runoff hydrograph(Col. 4 of Table A).

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84 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 84In order to obtain 2-h UH from the derived 4-h UH, one has to use the S-hydrographmethod. After having obtained 4-hr S-curve (Col. 3 of Table E), ordinates of another 4-hr S-curve (lagging the previous 4-hr S-curve by 2-h), Col. 4 of Table E, are subtracted from theprevious 4-hr S-curve. The difference gives the ordinates of a hydrograph resulting from arainfall excess of (2/4) cm i.e., 0.5 cm in a duration of 2 hours (Col. 5 of Table E). Therefore, theordinates of the hydrograph (rainfall excess of 0.5 cm in a duration of 2 hours) are divided by0.5 cm so as to have the hydrograph with rainfall excess of a 1 cm in a duration of 2 hours. (Col.6 of TableE). The ordinates (Col. 6 of Table E), as expected, are the same as that of the ordinatesof the original 2-hr, UH (Col. 6 of Table A). That is, this resulting hydrograph, Fig. 2.27 (b), isthe 2-hr UH derived from the 4-h UH.(E) Computation of 2-h UH from the derived 4-hr UHTime 4-hr UH4-hour S-Hydrograph DRH of2-h UH(hours) Original lagged by 0.5 cm in2 hours 2 hours(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)0 0.0 0 0.00 02 10.0 10 0 10.00 204 33.5 33.5 10 23.50 476 54.5 64.5 33.5 31.00 628 48.5 82 64.5 17.50 3510 25.0 89.5 82 7.50 1512 10.0 92 89.5 2.50 514 2.5 92 92 0.00 016 0.0 92 92 0.00Sum of all the ordinates of any UH of this example is 184 m3/s which results in directrunoff depth of184 2 3600133 1 101006× ×××.i.e., 0.995 cm ≈ 1.0 cmTherefore, the computations are in order.Also, the correctness of the computations of each S-curve can be examined by comparingthe computed equilibrium discharge with the value obtained from Eq. (2.23). For example, for3-hr S-curve,Qe = (2.78)(133.1/3) = 123.34 m3/swhich value compares well with the values of discharge around equilibrium conditions.2.8. FLOODSA flood represents an unusual high stage in a river such that the river overflows its banks and,thus, inundates the adjoining land. Floods cause huge loss of life and property besides disruptingall human activities resulting into large economic loss. India suffers greatly on account offloods or hydrologic droughts occurring recurrently in one or other part of the country.Hydrologic drought is a condition (or period) during which stream flows are inadequate tosupply for the established uses (domestic, irrigation, hydropower etc.) of water under a givenwater-management system. Complete control over floods and droughts is impossible to achieve.

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HYDROLOGY 85dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 85For the purpose of designing any hydraulic structure, one needs to know the magnitude of thepeak flood (or flow) that can be expected with an assigned frequency during the life of thestructure.2.8.1. Estimation of Peak FloodFloods or flows in a stream depend upon several factors the influence of which on floods cannotbe ascertained accurately. Therefore, the floods, like other hydrologic processes, cannot bemodelled analytically.The following alternative methods are used for estimation of the peak flood:(i) Rational method(ii) Empirical method(iii) Unit hydrograph method(iv) Flood—frequency method.The choice of a method for estimation of the peak flood primarily depends upon theimportance of the work and available data.2.8.1.1. Rational MethodThe runoff rate during and after a precipitation of uniform intensity and long duration typicallyvaries as shown in Fig. 2.28. The runoff increases from zero to a constant peak value when thewater from the remotest area of the catchment basin reaches the basin outlet. If tc is the timetaken for water from the remotest part of the catchment to reach the outlet and the rainfallcontinues beyond tc, the runoff will have attained constant peak value. When the rain stopsthe runoff starts decreasing. The peak value of runoff, Qp (m3/s) is given asQp =13 6.Ci A (2.26)where, C = coefficient of runoff (Table 2.3) depending upon the nature of the catchmentsurface and the rainfall intensity, i.i = the mean intensity of rainfall (mm/hr) for a duration equal to or exceeding tcand an exceedence probability P, andA = catchment area in km2.PeakvalueQpPeakvalueQpRunoffRecessionEnd of rainfalliitctcTime(Volume of the two hatched portions are equal)RunoffandrainfallratesFig. 2.28 Runoff hydrograph due to uniform rainfall

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86 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 86Table 2.3 : Coefficient of runoff C for different surfacesType of surface Value of CWooded areas 0.01 – 0.20Parks, open spaces lawns, meadows 0.05 – 0.30Unpaved streets, Vacant lands 0.10 – 0.30Gravel roads and walks 0.15 – 0.30Macadamized roads 0.25 – 0.60Inferior block pavements with open joints 0.40 – 0.50Stone, brick and wood-block pavements with open or uncemented joints 0.40 – 0.70Stone, brick and wood-block pavements with tightly cemented joints 0.75 – 0.85Asphalt pavements in good order 0.85 – 0.90Watertight roof surfaces 0.70 – 0.95The time tc (known as time of concentration) can be obtained from Kirpich equationtc = 0.01947 L0.77 S–0.386 (2.27)where, tc is in minutes,L is the maximum length (in metres) of travel of water from the upstreamend of the catchment basin to the basin outlet, and S is the slope of the catchment which isequal to ∆H/L in which ∆H is the difference of elevations of the upstream end of the catchmentand the outlet.The method is suitable for catchments of small size less than about 50 km2 i.e., 5000hectares and is often used for peak flow estimation required for deisgn of storm drains, culverts,highway drains etc.2.8.1.2. Empirical MethodsThe empirical relations are based on statistical correlation between the observed peak flow, Qp(m3/s) and the area of catchment, A (km2) in a given region and are, therefore, region-specific.The following empirical relations are often used in India:(a) Dicken’s formula, used in the central and northern parts of India, is as follows:Qp = CD A3/4 (2.28)where, CD (known as Dicken’s constant) is selected from the following Table (8):Region Value of CDNorth Indian plains 6North Indian hilly regions 11 – 14Central India 14 – 28Coastal Andhra and Orissa 22 – 28(b) Ryves formula, used in Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, isas follows :Qp = CR A2/3 (2.29)The recommended values of CR are as follows:CR = 6.8 for areas within 80 km from the east cost= 8.5 for areas which are 80 – 160 km from the east coast= 10.2 for limited areas near hills.

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HYDROLOGY 87dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 87(c) Inglis formula, used in regions of Western Ghats in Maharashtra, is as follows:Qp =12410 4AA + .(2.30)(d) Envelope curve technique is used to develop peak flow-area relationship for areashaving meager peak flood data. The data of peak flow from large number of catchments (havingmeteorological characteristics similar to the region for which peak flow-area relationship issought to be prepared) are plotted against catchment area on a log-log graph paper. Theenveloping curve, encompassing all the data points, gives peak flow–area relation for anycatchment that has meteorological characteristics similar to the ones of catchments whosedata were used to obtain the envolope curve. Equation of the envelope curve would yieldempirical formula of the type Qp = f(A). Two such curves, based on data from large catchmentsof areas in the range of 103 to 106 km2, are shown in Fig. 2.29 (8).Southern indian riversNorthern and centralindian rivers1061051041031031041055325322 5 2 5 2 5Drainage area (km )2Peakflooddischarge(m/s)3Fig. 2.29 Envelope curves for Indian rivers (8)Based on data of peak flood in various catchments throughout the world, Baird andMcILL wraith have given the following formula for Qp (8) :Qp =3025278 0.78AA( )+(2.31)Similarly, CWC (11, 12, and 13) recommended the following relation for the estimationof peak flood flow for small to medium catchments (A < 250 sq. km) :Qp = A [a(tp)b] ...(2.32)in which, tp is the time (in hours) to peak and is expressed astp = c [Lc/ S ]d ...(2.33)

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88 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 88in which, Lc is the length of the longest stream from the point, opposite to the centroid of thecatchment, up to the gauging site in km, S is the slope of the catchment in m/km, and thevalues of the constants a, b, c, and d in Eqs. (2.32) and (2.33) are region-dependent (Table 2.4).Table 2.4. Values of the constants a, b, c and d for Eqs. (2.32) and (2.33)Region a b c dMahi and Sabarmati 1.161 – 0.635 0.433 0.704Lower Narmada and Tapi 1.920 – 0.780 0.523 0.323Mahanandi 1.121 – 0.660 1.970 0.240Godavari 1.968 – 0.842 0.253 0.4502.8.1.3. Unit Hydrograph MethodOne can use already known or derived unit hydrograph for a catchment basin to predict thepeak flood hydrograph in response to an extreme rainfall i.e., the design storm in the catchmentas discussed in Art. 2.7.2.8.1.4. Flood Frequency MethodThe data of annual maximum flood in a given catchment area for a large number of successiveyears (i.e., data series of the largest flood in each successive year) are arranged in decreasingorder of magnitude. The probability P of each flood being equalled or exceeded, also known asthe plotting position, is given asP =mN + 1(2.34)where, m is the order number of the relevant flood in the table of annual floods arranged indecreasing order and N is the total number of annual floods in the data. Return period (orrecurrence interval) Tr is the reciprocal of the probability, P. Thus,Tr =1P(2.35)Frequency of flood (or any other hydrologic event) of a given magnitude is the averagenumber of times a flood of given (or higher) magnitude is likely to occur.Thus, the 100-yearflood is a flood which has a probability of being equalled or exceeded once in every 100 years.That is, P = 1/100 and Tr = 100 years.One can draw a graph between the flood magnitude and its return period (or plottingposition) on the basis of the data series of annual floods and fit a curve to obtain probability (orempirical) distribution. This graph may be extrapolated to get the design flood for any otherreturn period. Such plots are used to estimate the floods with shorter return periods. Forlonger return periods, however, one should fit a theoretical distribution to the flood data.Some of the commonly used theoretical frequency distribution functions for estimating theextreme flood magnitudes are as follows:(a) Gumbel’s extreme value distribution(b) The log-Pearson Type III distribution, and(c) The log normal distribution.Flood frequency analysis is a viable method of flood-flow estimation in most situations.But, it requires data for a minimum of 30 years for meaningful predictions. Such analysisgives reliable predictions in regions of relatively uniform climatic conditions from year to year.

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HYDROLOGY 89dharmd:N-IengEgg2-2.pm5 89The PMF is used for structures such as dams, spillways etc. whose failure would resultin huge loss of life and property. Table 2.6 provides guidelines for this purpose (15).Table 2.6 Design flood for damsSize/class of dam Gross storage Hydraulic Head Design Flood(Mm3) (m)Small 0.5 to 10.00 7.5 to 12.0 100 – year floodMedium 10.0 to 60.00 12.0 to 30.0 SPFLarge more than 60.0 more than 30.0 PMF1. Spillways for major and mediumprojects with storage more than 60 Mm3(a) PMF determined by unit hydrograph andprobable maximum precipitation (PMP)(b) If (a) is not applicable or possible, flood-frequency method with T = 1000 years to 5000years2. Permanent barrage and minor damswith capacity less than 60 Mm3(a) SPF determined by unit hydrograph andstandard project storm (SPS) which is usuallythe largest recorded storm in the region(b) Flood with a return period of 100 years.(a) or (b) whichever gives higher value.3. Pickup weirs Flood with a return period of 100 or 50 yearsdepending on the importance of the project.4. Aqueducts(a) Waterway(b) Foundations and free boardFlood with T = 50 yearsFlood with T = 100 years5. Project with very scanty or inadequatedataEmpirical formulaeTable 2.5 Guidelines for selecting design floods (14)S. No. Structure Recommended design flood2.8.2. Design FloodDesign flood is the flood adopted for the design of a hydraulic structure. It would be, obviously,very costly affair to design any hydraulic structure so as to make it safe against the maximumflood possible in the catchment. Smaller structures such as culverts, storm drainage systemscan be designed for relatively small floods (i.e., more frequent floods) as the consequences of ahigher than design flood may only cause temporary inconvenience and some repair workswithout any loss of life and property. However, failure of structures such as spillway wouldcause huge loss of life and property and, therefore, such structures should be designed forrelatively more severe floods having relatively larger return period. Table 2.5 provides guidelinesfor selecting design floods (14). The terms PMF and SPF in the Table 2.5 have the followingmeaning :PMF, i.e., probable maximum flood is the extreme large flood that is physically possiblein a region as a result of severemost (including rare ones) combination of meteorological andhydrological factors. SPF is the standard project flood that would result from a severecombination of meteorological and hydrological factors. Usually, SPF is about 40 to 60% ofPMF.

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3.1. SOILSSoil mainly consists of finely divided organic matter and minerals (formed due to disintegrationof rocks). It holds the plants upright, stores water for plant use, supplies nutrients to theplants and helps in aeration. Soils can be classified in many ways, such as on the basis of size(gravel, sand, silt, clay, etc.), geological process of formation, and so on. Based on their processof formation (or origin), they can be classified into the following categories:(i) Residual soils: Disintegration of natural rocks due to the action of air, moisture, frost,and vegetation results in residual soils.(ii) Alluvial soils: Sediment material deposited in bodies of water, deltas, and along thebanks of the overflowing streams forms alluvial soils.(iii) Aeolian soils: These soils are deposited by wind action.(iv) Glacial soils: These soils are the products of glacial erosion.(v) Colluvial soils: These are formed by deposition at foothills due to rain wash.(vi) Volcanic soil: These are formed due to volcanic eruptions and are commonly called asvolcanic wash.The soils commonly found in India can be classified as follows:(i) Alluvial Soils: Alluvial soils include the deltaic alluvium, calcareous alluvial soils,coastal alluvium, and coastal sands. This is the largest and most important soil group of India.The main features of the alluvial soils of India are derived from the deposition caused byrivers of the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra systems. These rivers bring with themthe products of weathering of rocks constituting the mountains in various degrees of finenessand deposit them as they traverse the plains. These soils vary from drift sand to loams andfrom fine silts to stiff clays. Such soils are very fertile and, hence, large irrigation schemes inareas of such soils are feasible. However, the irrigation structures themselves would requirestrong foundation.(ii) Black Soils: The black soils vary in depth from a thin layer to a thick stratum. Thetypical soil derived from the Deccan trap is black cotton soil. It is common in Maharashtra,western parts of Madhya Pradesh, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Gujarat, and some partsof Tamil Nadu. These soils may vary from clay to loam and are also called heavy soils. Manyblack soil areas have a high degree of fertility but some, especially in the uplands, are ratherpoor. These are suitable for the cultivation of rice and sugarcane. Drainage is poor in suchsoils.92SOIL–WATER RELATIONS ANDIRRIGATION METHODS3dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 92

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 93dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 93(iii) Red Soils: These are crystalline soils formed due to meteoric weathering of the an-cient crystalline rocks. Such soils are found in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, south-easternMaharashtra, eastern Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, and some districts ofWest Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Many of the so-called red soils of south India are not red. Redsoils have also been found under forest vegetation.(iv) Lateritic Soils: Laterite is a formation peculiar to India and some other tropicalcountries. Laterite rock is composed of a mixture of the hydrated oxides of aluminium and ironwith small amounts of manganese oxides. Under the monsoon conditions, the siliceous matterof the rocks is leached away almost completely during weathering. Laterites are found on thehills of Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, the estern Ghats of Orissa. Maharashtra, WestBengal, Tamil Nadu, and Assam.(v) Desert Soils: A large part of the arid region belonging to western Rajasthan, Haryana,and Punjab lying between the Indus river and the Aravalli range is affected by desert andconditions of geologically recent origin. This part is covered with a mantle of the blown sandwhich, combined with the arid climate, results in poor soil development. The Rajasthan desertis a vast sandy plain including isolated hills or rock outcrops at places. The soil in Rajasthanimproves in fertility from west and north-west to east and north-east.(vi) Forest Soils: These soils contain high percentage of organic and vegetable matterand are also called humus. These are found in forests and foothills.Soils suitable for agriculture are called arable soils and other soils are non-arable.Depending upon their degree of arability, these soils are further subdivided as follows:(i) Class I: The soils in class I have only a few limitations which restrict their use forcultivation. These soils are nearly level, deep, well-drained, and possess good water-holdingcapacity. They are fertile and suitable for intensive cropping.(ii) Class II: These soils have some limitations which reduce the choice of crops andrequire moderate soil conservation practices to prevent deterioration, when cultivated.(iii) Class III: These soils have severe limitations which reduce the choice of crops andrequire special soil conservation measures, when cultivated.(iv) Class IV: These soils have very severe limitations which restrict the choice of cropsto only a few and require very careful management. The cultivation may be restricted to oncein three or four years.Soils of type classI to classIV are called arable soils. Soils inferior to class IV are groupedas non-arable soils. Irrigation practices are greatly influenced by the soil characteristics. Fromagricultural considerations, the following soil characteristics are of particular significance.(i) Physical properties of soil,(ii) Chemical properties of soil, and(iii) Soil-water relationships.3.2. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILThe permeability of soils with respect to air, water, and roots are as important to the growth ofcrop as an adequate supply of nutrients and water. The permeability of a soil depends on theporosity and the distribution of pore spaces which, in turn, are decided by the texture andstructure of the soil.

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94 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 943.2.1. Soil TextureSoil texture is determined by the size of soil particles. Most soils contain a mixture of sand(particle size ranging from 0.05 to 1.00 mm in diameter), silt (0.002 to 0.05 mm) and clay(smaller than 0.002 mm). If the sand particles dominate in a soil, it is called sand and is acoarse-textured soil. When clay particles dominate, the soil is called clay and is a fine-texturedsoil. Loam soils (or simply loams) contain about equal amount of sand, silt, and clay and aremedium-textured soils.The texture of a soil affects the flow of water, aeration of soil, and the rate of chemicaltransformation all of which are important for plant life. The texture also determines the waterholding capacity of the soil.3.2.2. Soil StructureVolume of space (i.e., the pores space) between the soil particles depends on the shape and sizedistribution of the particles. The pore space in irrigated soils may vary from 35 to 55 per cent.The term porosity is used to measure the pore space and is defined as the ratio of the volumeof voids (i.e., air and water-filled space) to the total volume of soil (including water and air).The pore space directly affects the soil fertility (i.e., the productive value of soil) due to itsinfluence upon the water-holding capacity and also on the movement of air, water, and rootsthrough the soil.Soils of uniform particle size have large spaces between the particles, whereas soils ofvarying particle sizes are closely packed and the space between the particles is less. The particlesof a coarse-grained soil function separately but those of fine-grained soils function as granules.Each granule consists of many soil particles. Fine-textured soils offer a favourable soil structurepermitting retention of water, proper movement of air and penetration of roots which is essentialfor the growth of a crop.The granules are broken due to excessive irrigation, ploughing or working under toowet (puddling) or too dry conditions. Such working affects the soil structure adversely. Thestructure of the irrigated soil can be maintained and improved by proper irrigation practicessome of which are as follows (1):(i) Ploughing up to below the compacted layers,(ii) After ploughing, allowing sufficient time for soil and air to interact before preparingthe seed bed or giving pre-planting irrigation,(iii) The organic matter spent by the soil for previous crops should be returned in the formof fertilisers, manures, etc.,(iv) Keeping cultivation and tillage operations to a minimum, and(v) Adopting a good crop rotation.Green manures keep the soil fertility high. Crops like hamp, gwar, moong etc. are grownon the fields. When these plants start flowering, ploughing is carried out on the fields so thatthese plants are buried below the ground surface. Their decomposition makes up for the soildeficiencies.The tendency of cultivators to grow only one type of crop (due to better returns) shouldbe stopped as this cultivation practice leads to the deficiency in the soil of those nutrientswhich are needed by the crop. If the land is not used for cultivation for some season, the soilrecoups its fertility. Alternatively, green manures can be used. Rotation of crops (which meansgrowing different crops on a field by rotation) is also useful in maintaining soil fertility at asatisfactory level.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 95dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 953.2.3. Depth of SoilThe importance of having an adequate depth of soil for storing sufficient amount of irrigationwater and providing space for root penetration cannot be overemphasised. Shallow soils requiremore frequent irrigations and cause excessive deep percolation losses when shallow soils overliecoarse-textured and highly permeable sands and gravels. On the other hand, deep soils wouldgenerally require less frequent irrigations, permit the plant roots to penetrate deeper, andprovide for large storage of irrigation water. As a result, actual water requirement for a givencrop (or plant) is more in case of shallow soils than in deep soils even though the amount ofwater actually absorbed by the crop (or plant) may be the same in both types of soils. This isdue to the unavoidable water losses at each irrigation.3.3. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILFor satisfactory crop yield, soils must have sufficient plant nutrients, such as nitrogen, carbon,hydrogen, iron, oxygen, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur, magnesium, and so on. Nitrogen isthe most important of all the nutrients. Nitrogenous matter is supplied to the soil from barnyardmanure or from the growing of legume crops as green manures, or from commercial fertilisers.Plants absorb nitrogen in the form of soluble nitrates.Soils having excess (greater than 0.15 to 0.20 per cent) soluble salts are called salinesoils and those having excess of exchangeable sodium (more than 15 per cent or pH greaterthan 8.5) are called alkaline (or sodic) soils. Excessive amounts of useful plant nutrients suchas sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate may become toxic to plants. Saline soils delay orprevent crop germination and also reduce the amount and rate of plant growth because of thehigh osmotic pressures which develop between the soil-water solution and the plants. Thesepressures adversely affect the ability of the plant to absorb water.Alkaline (or sodic) soils tend to have inferior soil structure due to swelling of the soilparticles. This changes the permeability of the soil. Bacterial environment is also an importantfeature of the soil-water-plant relationship. The formation of nitrates from nitrogenouscompounds is accelerated due to favourable bacterial activity. Bacterial action also convertsorganic matter and other chemical compounds into forms usable by the plants. Bacterial activityis directly affected by the soil moisture, soil structure, and soil aeration. Compared to humidclimate soils, arid soils provide better bacterial environment up to much greater depths becauseof their open structure. Besides, due to low rainfall in arid regions, leaching (i.e., drainingaway of useful salts) is relatively less and the arid soils are rich in mineral plant food nutrients,such as calcium and potassium.Soils become saline or alkaline largely on account of the chemical composition of rocksweathering of which resulted in the formation of soils. Sufficient application of water to thesoil surface through rains or irrigation helps in carrying away the salts from the root-zoneregion of the soil to the rivers and oceans. When proper drainage is not provided, the irrigationwater containing excessive quantities of salt may, however, render the soil unsuitable forcultivation. Saline and alkaline soils can be reclaimed by: (i) adequate lowering of watertable, (ii) leaching out excess salts, and (iii) proper management of soil so that the amount ofsalt carried away by the irrigation water is more than the amount brought in by irrigationwater.

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96 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 963.4. SOIL–WATER RELATIONSHIPSAny given volume V of soil (Fig. 3.1) consists of : (i) volume of solids Vs , (ii) volume of liquids(water) Vw, and (iii) volume of gas (air) Va. Obviously, the volume of voids (or pore spaces) Vv =Vw + Va. For a fully saturated soil sample, Va = 0 and Vv = Vw . Likewise, for a completely dryspecimen, Vw = 0 and Vv = Va. The weight of air is considered zero compared to the weightsof water and soil grains. The void ratio e, the porosity n, the volumetric moisture content w,and the saturation S are defined ase =VVvs, n =VVv, w =VVw, S =VVwvTherefore, w = Sn …(3.1)VaVwVsVvVGas (Air)Water WwWsSoil particlesFig. 3.1 Occupation of space in a soil sampleIt should be noted that the value of porosity n is always less than 1.0. But, the value ofvoid ratio e may be less, equal to, or greater than 1.0.Further, if the weight of water in a wet soil sample is Ww and the dry weight of thesample is Ws , then the dry weight moisture fraction, W is expressed as (2)W =WWws(3.2)The bulk density (or the bulk specific weight or the bulk unit weight) γb of a soil mass isthe total weight of the soil (including water) per unit bulk volume, i.e.,γb =WVTin which, WT = Ws + WwThe specific weight (or the unit weight) of the solid particles is the ratio of dry weight ofthe soil particles Ws to the volume of the soil particles Vs, i.e., Ws/Vs. Thus,Gb γw =WVsi.e., V =WGsb wγ

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100 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 100Gravity water is that water which drains away under the influence of gravity. Soonafter irrigation (or rainfall) this water remains in the soil and saturates the soil, thus preventingcirculation of air in void spaces.The capillary water is held within soil pores due to the surface tension forces (againstgravity) which act at the liquid-vapour (or water-air) interface.Water attached to soil particles through loose chemical bonds is termed hygroscopicwater. This water can be removed by heat only. But, the plant roots can use a very smallfraction of this moisture under drought conditions.When an oven-dry (heated to 105°C for zero per cent moisture content) soil sample isexposed to atmosphere, it takes up some moisture called hygroscopic moisture. If more wateris made available, it can be retained as capillary moisture due to surface tension (i.e.,intermolecular forces). Any water, in excess of maximum capillary moisture, flows down freelyand is the gravitational (or gravity) water.The water remaining in the soil after the removal of gravitational water is called thefield capacity. Field capacity of a soil is defined as the moisture content of a deep, permeable,and well-drained soil several days after a thorough wetting. Field capacity is measured interms of the moisture fraction, Wfc = (Ww/Ws) of the soil when, after thorough wetting of thesoil, free drainage (at rapid rate) has essentially stopped and further drainage, if any, occursat a very slow rate. An irrigated soil, i.e., adequately wetted soil, may take approximately one(in case of sandy soil) to three (in case of clayey soil) days for the rapid drainage to stop. Thiscondition corresponds to a surface tension of one-tenth bar (in case of sandy soils) to one-thirdbar (in case of clayey soils). Obviously, the field capacity depends on porosity and soil moisturetension. The volumetric moisture content at the field capacity wfc becomes equal to Gb Wfc.Plants are capable of extracting water from their root-zone soil to meet their transpirationdemands. But, absence of further addition to the soil moisture may result in very low availabilityof soil water and under such a condition the water is held so tightly in the soil pores that therate of water absorption by plants may not meet their transpiration demands and the plantsmay either wilt or even die, if not supplied with water immediately and well before the plantswilt. After wilting, however, a plant may not regain its strength and freshness even if the soilis saturated with water. Permanent wilting point is defined as the soil moisture fraction, Wwpat which the plant leaves wilt (or droop) permanently and applying additional water after thisstage will not relieve the wilted condition. The soil moisture tension at this condition is around15 bars (2). The moisture content at the permanent wilting condition will be higher in a hotclimate than in a cold climate. Similarly, the percentage of soil moisture at the permanentwilting point of a plant will be larger in clayey soil than in sandy soil. The permanent wiltingpoint is, obviously, at the lower end of the available moisture range and can be approximatelyestimated by dividing the field capacity by a factor varying from 2.0 (for soils with low siltcontent) to 2.4 (for soils with high silt content). The permanent wilting point also dependsupon the nature of crop. The volumetric moisture content at the permanent wilting point, wwpbecomes GbWwp. Figure 3.2 shows different stages of soil moisture content in a soil and thecorresponding conditions.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 101dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 101x x x x xx x x xx x x x xDsWtSaturationField capacityPermanentwilting pointOven-dryconditionGravitationalwater(Rapid drainage)Capillarywater(Slow drainage)Hygroscopicwater(No drainage)Fig. 3.2 Different stages of soil moisture content in a soilThe difference in the moisture content of the soil between its field capacity and thepermanent wilting point within the root zone of the plants is termed available moisture. Itrepresents the maximum moisture which can be stored in the soil for plant use. It should benoted that the soil moisture content near the wilting point is not easily extractable by theplants. Hence, the term readily available moisture is used to represent that fraction of theavailable moisture which can be easily extracted by the plants. Readily available moisture isapproximately 75% of the available moisture.The total available moisture dt (in terms of depth) for a plant (or soil) is given bydt = (wfc – wwp) d (3.9)in which, d is the depth of the root zone.It is obvious that soil moisture can vary between the field capacity (excess amount woulddrain away) and the permanent wilting point. However, depending upon the prevailingconditions, soil moisture can be allowed to be depleted below the field capacity (but not belowthe permanent wilting point in any case), before the next irrigation is applied. The permissibleamount of depletion is referred to as the management allowed deficit Dm which primarilydepends on the type of crop and its stage of growth (2). Thus,Dm = fm dt (3.10)in which, fm is, obviously, less than 1 and depends upon the crop and its stage of growth. At atime when the soil moisture content is w, the soil-moisture deficit Ds is given asDs = (wfc – w) d (3.11)Example 3.4 For the following data, calculate the total available water and the soilmoisture defict.Soil depth (cm) Gb Wfc Wwp W0-15 1.25 0.24 0.13 0.1615-30 1.30 0.28 0.14 0.1830-60 1.35 0.31 0.15 0.2360-90 1.40 0.33 0.15 0.2690-120 1.40 0.31 0.14 0.28

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102 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 102Solution:Depth of soil wfc = Gb Wfc wwp = Gb Wwp dt = d × w = Gb W Ds = d ×layers, d (wfc – wwp) (wfc – w)(mm) (mm) (mm)150 0.3 0.1625 20.625 0.2 15.0150 0.364 0.182 27.300 0.234 19.5300 0.4185 0.2025 64.800 0.3105 32.4300 0.462 0.21 75.600 0.364 29.4300 0.434 0.196 71.400 0.392 12.6Total 259.725 108.9Example 3.5 The field capacity and permanent wilting point for a given 0.8 m root-zonesoil are 35 and 10 per cent, respectively. At a given time, the soil moisture in the given soil is20 per cent when a farmer irrigates the soil with 250 mm depth of water. Assuming bulkspecific gravity of the soil as 1.6, determine the amount of water wasted from the considerationof irrigation.Solution:At the time of application of water,Soil moisture deficit, Ds = (Wfc – W) d Gb= (0.35 – 0.20) (0.8) (1.6)= 0.192 mTherefore, the amount of water wasted= 0.250 – 0.192= 58 mm=58250100× = 23.2%3.6. INFILTRATIONInfiltration is another important property of soil which affects surface irrigation. It not onlycontrols the amount of water entering the soil but also the overland flow. Infiltration is acomplex process which depends on: (i) soil properties, (ii) initial soil moisture content, (iii)previous wetting history, (iv) permeability and its changes due to surface water movement, (v)cultivation practices, (vi) type of crop being sown, and (vii) climatic effects. In an initially drysoil, the infiltration rate is high at the beginning of rain (or irrigation), but rapidly decreaseswith time until a fairly steady state infiltration is reached (Fig. 3.3). This constant rate ofinfiltration is also termed the basic infiltration rate and is approximately equal to thepermeability of the saturated soil.The moisture profile under ponded infiltration into dry soil, Fig. 3.4, can be divided intothe following five zones (4):

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 103dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 1031000 Infiltration time, hours 20Infiltrationrate,incm/hrICumulativeinfiltration,Zincm50Fig. 3.3 Variation of infiltration rate, I and cumulative infiltration, Z with timeSoildepthInitialwatercontentθsθiO Water contentTransition zoneSaturated zoneTransmissionzoneWetting zoneSaturatedwatercontentWettingfrontFig. 3.4 Soil-moisture profile during ponded infiltration(i) The saturated zone extending up to about 1.5 cm below the surface and having asaturated water content.(ii) The transition zone which is about 5 cm thick and is located below the saturatedzone. In this zone, a rapid decrease in water content occurs.(iii) The transmission zone in which the water content varies slowly with depth as well astime.(iv) The wetting zone in which sharp decrease in water content is observed.(v) The wetting front is a region of very steep moisture gradient. This represents thelimit of moisture penetration into the soil.Table 3.1 lists the ranges of porosity, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and basicinfiltration rate (or permeability) for different soil textures.

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104 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 104Table 3.1 Representative properties of soilSoil texture Porosity (%) Field capacity Permanent Basic infiltration(%) wilting point (%) rate (cm/hr)Sand 32-42 5-10 2-6 2.5-25Sandy loam 40-47 10-18 4-10 1.3-7.6Loam 43-49 18-25 8-14 0.8-2.0Clay loam 47-51 24-32 11-16 0.25-1.5Silty clay 49-53 27-35 13-17 0.03-0.5Clay 51-55 32-40 15-22 0.01-0.13.7. CONSUMPTIVE USE (OR EVAPOTRANSPIRATION)The combined loss of water from soil and crop by vaporisation is identified as evapotranspiration(3). Crops need water for transpiration and evaporation. During the growing period of a crop,there is a continuous movement of water from soil into the roots, up the stems and leaves, andout of the leaves to the atmosphere. This movement of water is essential for carrying plantfood from the soil to various parts of the plant. Only a very small portion (less than 2 per cent)of water absorbed by the roots is retained in the plant and the rest of the absorbed water, afterperforming its tasks, gets evaporated to the atmosphere mainly through the leaves and stem.This process is called transpiration. In addition, some water gets evaporated to the atmospheredirectly from the adjacent soil and water surfaces and from the surfaces of the plant leaves(i.e., the intercepted precipitation on the plant foliage). The water needs of a crop thus consistsof transpiration and evaporation and is called evapotranspiration or consumptive use.Consumptive use refers to the water needs of a crop in a specified time and is the sum ofthe volume of transpirated and evaporated water. Consumptive use is defined as the amount ofwater needed to meet the water loss through evapotranspiration. It generally applies to a cropbut can be extended to a field, farm, project or even a valley. Consumptive use is generallymeasured as volume per unit area or simply as the depth of water on the irrigated area.Knowledge of consumptive use helps determine irrigation requirement at the farm which should,obviously, be the difference between the consumptive use and the effective precipitation.Evapotranspiration is dependent on climatic conditions like temperature, daylight hours,humidity, wind movement, type of crop, stage of growth of crop, soil moisture depletion, andother physical and chemical properties of soil. For example, in a sunny and hot climate, cropsneed more water per day than in a cloudy and cool climate. Similarly, crops like rice or sugarcaneneed more water than crops like beans and wheat. Also, fully grown crops need more waterthan crops which have been just planted.While measuring or calculating potential evapotranspiration, it is implicitly assumedthat water is freely available for evaporation at the surface. Actual evapotranspiration, in theabsence of free availability of water for evaporation will, obviously, be less and is determinedby: (i) the extent to which crop covers the soil surface, (ii) the stage of crop growth whichaffects the transpiration and soil surface coverage, and (iii) soil water supply.Potential evapotranspiration is measured by growing crops in large containers, knownas lysimeters, and measuring their water loss and gains. Natural conditions are simulated in

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 105dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 105these containers as closely as possible. The operator measures water added, water retained bythe soil, and water lost through evapotranspiration and deep percolation. Weighings can bemade with scales or by floating the lysimeters in water. Growth of roots in lysimeters confinedto the dimensions of lysimeters, the disturbed soil in the lysimeters and other departures fromnatural conditions limit the accuracy of lysimeter measurements of potential evapotranspiration.Potential evapotranspiration from a cropped surface can be estimated either bycorrelating potential evapotranspiration with water loss from evaporation devices or byestimations based on various climatic parameters. Correlation of potential evapotranspirationassumes that the climatic conditions affecting crop water loss (Det) and evaporation from a freesurface of water (Ep) are the same. Potential evapotranspiration Det can be correlated to thepan evaporation Ep as (3),Det = KEp (3.12)in which, K is the crop factor for that period. Pan evaporation data for various parts of Indiaare published by the Meteorological Department. The crop factor K depends on the crop aswell as its stage of growth (Table 3.2). The main limitations of this method are the differencesin physical features of evaporation surfaces compared with those of a crop surface.Table 3.2 Values of crop factor K from some major cropsPercentage of crop Maize, cotton,Wheat,Sugarcane Ricegrowing season potatoes, peasbarley andsince sowing and sugarbeetsother smallgrains0 0.20 0.08 0.50 0.8010 0.36 0.15 0.60 0.9525 0.75 0.33 0.75 1.1050 1.00 0.65 1.00 1.3075 0.85 0.90 0.85 1.15100 0.20 0.20 0.50 0.20In the absence of pan evaporation data, the consumptive use is generally computed asfollows:(i) Compute the seasonal (or monthly) distribution of potential evapotranspiration, whichis defined as the evapotranspiration rate of a well-watered reference crop which com-pletely shades the soil surface (2). It is thus an indication of the climatic evaporationdemand of a vigorously growing crop. Usually, grass and alfalfa (a plant with leaveslike that of clover and purple flowers used as food for horses and cattle) are taken asreference crops.(ii) Adjust the potential evapotranspiration for the type of crop and the stage of cropgrowth. Factors such as soil moisture depletion are ignored so that the estimatedvalues of the consumptive use are conservative values to be used for design purposes.Thus, evapotranspiration of a crop can be estimated by multiplying potentialevapotranspiration by a factor known as crop coefficient.Potential evapotranspiration can be computed by one of the several methods availablefor the purpose. These methods range in sophistication from simple temperature correlation(such as the Blaney-Criddle formula) to equations (such as Penman’s equation) which account

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106 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 106for radiation energy as well. Blaney-Criddle formula for the consumptive use has been usedextensively and is expressed as (1)u = kf (3.13)in which, u = consumptive use of crop in mm,k = empirical crop consumptive use coefficient (Table 3.3), andf = consumptive use factor.The quantities u, k, and f are determined for the same period (annual, irrigation season,growing season or monthly). The consumptive use factor f is expressed asf =pt10018 32( . )+ (3.14)in which, t = mean temperature in °C for the chosen period, andp = percentage of daylight hours of the year occurring during the period.Table 3.4 lists the values of p for different months of a year for 0° north latitude. Thevalue of the consumptive use is generally determined on a monthly basis and the irrigationsystem must be designed for the maximum monthly water needs. It should be noted that Eq.(3.13) was originally in FPS system with appropriate values of k. Similarly, Eq. (3.14) too hada different form with t in Fahrenheit.Table 3.3 Consumptive use coefficient for some major crops (1)CropLenght of normal Consumptive use coefficient, kgrowing season or For the growing Monthly (maximumperiod period* value)**Corn (maize) 4 months 19.05 to 21.59 20.32 to 30.48Cotton 7 months 15.24 to 17.78 19.05 to 27.94Potatoes 3-5 months 16.51 to 19.05 21.59 to 25.40Rice 3-5 months 25.40 to 27.94 27.94 to 33.02Small grains 3 months 19.05 to 21.59 21.59 to 25.40Sugarbeet 6 months 16.51 to 19.05 21.59 to 25.40Sorghums 4-5 months 17.78 to 20.32 21.59 to 25.40Orange and lemon 1 year 11.43 to 13.97 16.21 to 19.05*The lower values are for more humid areas and the higher values are for more arid climates.** Dependent upon mean monthly temperature and stage of growth of crop.Table 3.4 Per cent daylight hours for northern hemispere (0-50° latitude) (1)LatitudeJan. Fab. March April May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.North(in degr-ees)0 8.50 7.66 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.50 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.505 8.32 7.57 8.47 8.29 8.65 8.41 8.67 8.60 8.23 8.42 8.07 8.3010 8.13 7.47 8.45 8.37 8.81 8.60 8.86 8.71 8.25 8.34 7.91 8.1015 7.94 7.36 8.43 8.44 8.98 8.80 9.05 8.83 8.28 8.26 7.75 7.88(Contd.)...

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108 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 108Example 3.6 Using the Blaney-Criddle formula, estimate the yearly consumptive useof water for sugarcane for the data given in the first four columns of Table 3.6.Solution:According to Eqs. (3.13) and (3.14),u = kpt10018 32( . )+Values of monthly consumptive use calculated from the above formula have beentabulated in the last column of Table 3.6. Thus, yearly consumptive use = Σu = 1.75 m.Table 3.6 Data and solution for Example 3.6MonthMean monthly Monthly crop Per cent Monthlytemperature, coefficient, k sunshine consumptivet°C hours, p use, u (mm)January 13.10 19.05 7.38 78.14February 15.70 20.32 7.02 85.96March 20.70 21.59 8.39 125.46April 27.00 21.59 8.69 151.22May 31.10 22.86 9.48 190.66June 33.50 24.13 9.41 209.58July 30.60 25.40 9.60 212.34August 29.00 25.40 9.60 205.31September 28.20 24.13 8.33 166.35October 24.70 22.86 8.01 140.01November 18.80 21.59 7.25 103.06December 13.70 19.05 7.24 78.153.8. IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTBased on the consumptive use, the growth of all plants can be divided into three stages, viz.,vegetative, flowering, and fruiting. The consumptive use continuously increases during thevegetative stage and attains the peak value around the flowering stage; thereafter, theconsumptive use decreases. It should be noted that different crops are harvested during differentstages of crop growth. For example, leafy vegetables are harvested during the vegetative stageand flowers are harvested during the flowering stage. Most crops (such as potatoes, rice, corn,beans, bananas, etc.) are harvested during the fruiting stage.At each precipitation, a certain volume of water is added to the crop field. Not all of therainfall can be stored within the root zone of the soil. The part of the precipitation which hasgone as surface runoff, percolated deep into the ground or evaporated back to the atomospheredoes not contribute to the available soil moisture for the growth of crop. Thus, effectiveprecipitation is only that part of the precipitation which contributes to the soil moisture availablefor plants. In other words, the effective rainfall is the water retained in the root zone and isobtained by subtracting the sum of runoff, evaporation, and deep percolation from the totalrainfall.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 109dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 109If, for a given period, the consumptive use exceeds the effective precipitation, thedifference has to be met by irrigation water. In some cases irrigation water has to satisfyleaching requirements too. Further, some of the water applied to the field necessarily flowsaway as surface runoff and/or percolates deep into the ground and/or evaporates to theatmosphere. Therefore, irrigation requirement is the quantity of water, exclusive of precipitationand regardless of its source, required by a crop or diversified pattern of crops in a given periodof time of their normal growth under field conditions. It includes evapotranspiration not metby effective precipitation and other economically unavoidable losses such as surface runoffand deep percolation. Irregular land surfaces, compact impervious soils or shallow soils over agravel stratum of high permeability, small or too large irrigation streams, absence of anattendant during irrigation, long irrigation runs, improper land preparation, steep groundslopes and such other factors contribute to large losses of irrigation water which, in turn,reduce irrigation efficiency. Irrigation efficiency is the ratio of irrigation water consumed bycrops of an irrigated field to the water diverted from the source of supply. Irrigation efficiencyis usually measured at the field entrance (3). Water application efficiency is the ratio of theaverage depth added to the root-zone storage to the average depth applied to the field. Obviously,irrigation efficiency measured at the field and the water application efficiency would be thesame. Thus, the field irrigation requirement FIR is expressed as (2)FIR =D D DEet p pla− −( )(3.15)in which, Det = depth of evapotranspiration,Dp = depth of precipitation,Dpl = depth of precipitation that goes as surface runoff and/or infiltrates into theground and/or intercepted by the plants,and Ea = irrigation efficiency or application efficiency.In the absence of any other information, the following values can be used as a guide forEa in different methods of surface irrigation for different types of soils:Soil class Irrigation efficiency (%)Sand 60Sandy loam 65Loam 70Clay loam 75Heavy clay 80If no other information is available, the following formulae can be used to estimate theeffective rainfall depth, Dpe provided that the ground slope does not exceed 5%.Dpe = 0.8 Dp – 25 if Dp > 75 mm/monthDpe = 0.6 Dp – 10 if Dp < 75 mm/monthDpe is always equal to or greater than zero and never negative. Both Dp ad Dpe are inmm/month in the foregoing formulae.Example 3.7 Using the data given in the first four columns of Table 3.7 for a given crop,determine the field irrigation requirement for each month assuming irrigation efficiency to be60 per cent.

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110 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 110Table 3.7 Data and solution for Example 3.5Month CropPan Effective rain- Consump-FIR (mm)factor, Kevaporation, fall, Dp – Dpl tive use,Ep (mm) (mm) Det (mm)November 0.20 118.0 6.0 23.60 29.33December 0.36 96.0 16.0 34.56 30.93January 0.75 90.0 20.0 67.50 79.17February 0.90 105.0 15.0 94.50 132.50March 0.80 140.0 2.0 112.00 183.33Solution:According to Eqs. (3.12) and (3.15)Det = KEpand FIR =D D DEet p pla− −( )Given Ea = 0.6Field irrigation requirement calculated for each month of the crop-growing season hasbeen tabulated in the last column of Table 3.7.3.9. FREQUENCY OF IRRIGATIONGrowing crops consume water continuously. However, the rate of consumption depends on thetype of crop, its age, and the atmospheric conditions all of which are variable factors. The aimof each irrigation is to fulfil the needs of the crop for a period which may vary from few days toseveral weeks. The frequency of irrigation primarily depends on: (i) the water needs of thecrop, (ii) the availability of water, and (iii) the capacity of the root-zone soil to store water.Shallow-rooted crops generally require more frequent irrigation than deep-rooted crops. Theroots of a plant in moist soil extract more water than the roots of the same plant in drier soil.A moderate quantity of soil moisture is beneficial for good crop growth. Both excessiveand deficient amount of soil moisture retard the crop growth and thus the yield. Excessiveflooding drives out air which is essential for satisfactory crop growth. In case of deficientmoisture, the plant has to spend extra energy to extract the desired amount of water.Many of the crops have an optimum soil moisture content at which the yield is maximum;if the moisture content is less or more than this amount, the yield reduces. Wheat has a well-defined optimum moisture content of around 40 cm. However, there are other crops in whichthe yield initially increases at a much faster rate with the increase in the soil moisture contentand the rate of increase of the yield becomes very small at higher moisture content. In suchcases, the soil moisture is kept up to a level beyond which the increase in production is notworth the cost of the additional water supplied.It should be noted that, because of the capacity of a soil to store water, it is not necessaryto apply water to the soil every day even though the consumptive use takes place continuously.The soil moisture can vary between the field capacity and the permanent wilting point. Theaverage moisture content will thus depend on the frequency of irrigation and quantity of waterapplied. As can be seen from Fig. 3.5, frequent irrigation (even of smaller depths) keeps theaverage mositure content closer to the field capacity. On the other hand, less frequent irrigationof larger depths of water will keep the average moisture content on the lower side.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 111dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 111Field capacityAveragemoisture contentPWPSoilmoisturecontentTime(a) MORE FREQUENT IRRIGATIONFieldcapacityAveragemoisture contentPWPSoilmoisturecontentTime(b) LESS FREQUENT IRRIGATIONFig. 3.5 Effect of frequency of irrigation on average moisute contentFor most of the crops, the yield remains maximum if not more than 50 per cent of theavailable water is removed during the vegetative, flowering, and the intitial periods of thefruiting stage. During the final period of the fruiting stage, 75 per cent of the available moisturecan be depleted without any adverse effect on the crop yield.The frequency of irrigation (or irrigation interval) is so decided that the average moisturecontent is close to the optimum and at each irrigation the soil moisture content is brought tothe field capacity. Alternatively, the frequency of irrigation can be decided so as to satisfy thedaily consumptive use requirement which varies with stage of growth. Thus, frequency ofirrigation is calculated by dividing the amount of soil moisture which may be depleted (i.e.,allowable depletion below field capacity and well above permanent wilting point) within theroot-zone soil by the rate of consumptive use. Thus,Frequency of irrigation =Allowable soil moisture depletionRate of consumptive use(3.16)The depth of watering at each irrigation to bring the moisture content w to the fieldcapacity wfc in a soil of depth d can be determined from the following relation:Depth of water to be applied =(w w dEfca− )(3.17)Example 3.8 During a particular stage of the growth of a crop, consumptive use ofwater is 2.8 mm/day. Determine the interval in days between irrigations, and depth of waterto be applied when the amount of water available in the soil is: (i) 25%, (ii) 50% (iii) 75%, and

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112 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 112(iv) 0% of the maximum depth of available water in the root zone which is 80 mm. Assumeirrigation efficiency to be 65%.Solution:(i) Frequency of irrigation =80 1 0 252 8× −( . ).= 21.43 days= 21 days (say)(ii) Depth of water to be applied =80 1 0 250 65× −( . ).= 92.31 mm= 93.00 mm (say).Other calculations have been shown in the following table:Amount of soil moisture depleted to25% 50% 75% 0%Frequency of irrigation (days) 21 14 7 28Depth of water to be applied (mm) 93 62 31 1243.10. METHODS OF IRRIGATIONAny irrigation system would consist of the following four subsystems (2):(i) The water supply subsystem which may include diversion from rivers or surfaceponds or pumped flow of ground water.(ii) The water delivery subsystem which will include canals, branches, and hydraulicstructures on these.(iii) The water use subsystems, which can be one of the four main types, namely, (a)surface irrigation, (b) subsurface irrigation, (c) sprinkler irrigation, and (d) trickleirrigation.(iv) The water removal system i.e., the drainage system.In this section, the water use subsystems have been described.3.10.1. Water Use SubsystemsIrrigation water can be applied to croplands using one of the following irrigation methods (1):(i) Surface irrigation which includes the following:(a) Uncontrolled (or wild or free) flooding method,(b) Border strip method,(c) Check method,(d) Basin method, and(e) Furrow method.(ii) Subsurface irrigation(iii) Sprinkler irrigation(iv) Trickle irrigation

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 113dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 113Each of the above methods has some advantages and disadvantages, and the choice ofthe method depends on the following factors (2):(i) Size, shape, and slope of the field,(ii) Soil characteristics,(iii) Nature and availability of the water supply subsystem,(iv) Types of crops being grown,(v) Initial development costs and availability of funds, and(vi) Preferences and past experience of the farmer.The design of an irrigation system for applying water to croplands is quite complex andnot amenable to quantitative analysis. Principal criteria for the design of a suitable irrigationmethod are as follows (3):(i) Store the required water in the root-zone of the soil,(ii) Obtain reasonably uniform application of water,(iii) Minimise soil erosion,(iv) Minimise run-off of irrigation water from the field,(v) Provide for beneficial use of the runoff water,(vi) Minimise labour requirement for irrigation,(vii) Minimise land use for ditches and other controls to distribute water,(viii) Fit irrigation system to field boundaries,(ix) Adopt the system to soil and topographic changes, and(x) Facilitate use of machinery for land preparation, cultivating, furrowing, harvesting,and so on.3.10.2. Surface IrrigationIn all the surface methods of irrigation, water is either ponded on the soil or allowed to flowcontinuously over the soil surface for the duration of irrigation. Although surface irrigation isthe oldest and most common method of irrigation, it does not result in high levels of performance.This is mainly because of uncertain infiltration rates which are affected by year-to-year changesin the cropping pattern, cultivation practices, climatic factors, and many other factors. As aresult, correct estimation of irrigation efficiency of surface irrigation is difficult. Applicationefficiencies for surface methods may range from about 40 to 80 per cent.(a) Uncontrolled FloodingWhen water is applied to the cropland without any preparation of land and without anylevees to guide or restrict the flow of water on the field, the method is called ‘uncontrolled’,wild or ‘free’ flooding. In this method of flooding, water is brought to field ditches and thenadmitted at one end of the field thus letting it flood the entire field without any control.Uncontrolled flooding generally results in excess irrigation at the inlet region of thefield and insufficient irrigation at the outlet end. Application efficiency is reduced because ofeither deep percolation (in case of longer duration of flooding) or flowing away of water (in caseof shorter flooding duration) from the field. The application efficiency would also depend onthe depth of flooding, the rate of intake of water into the soil, the size of the stream, andtopography of the field.

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114 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 114Obviously, this method is suitable when water is available in large quantities, the landsurface is irregular, and the crop being grown is unaffected because of excess water. Theadvantage of this method is the low initial cost of land preparation. This is offset by thedisadvantage of greater loss of water due to deep percolation and surface runoff.(b) Border Strip MethodBorder strip irrigation (or simply ‘border irrigation’) is a controlled surface floodingmethod of applying irrigation water. In this method, the farm is divided into a number ofstrips which can be 3-20 metres wide and 100-400 metres long. These strips are separated bylow levees (or borders). The strips are level between levees but slope along the length accordingto natural slope. If possible, the slope should be between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent. But, slopes asflat as 0.1 per cent and as steep as 8 per cent can also be used (1). In case of steep slope, careshould be taken to prevent erosion of soil. Clay loam and clayey soils require much flatterslopes (around 0.2%) of the border strips because of low infiltration rate. Medium soils mayhave slopes ranging from 0.2 to 0.4%. Sandy soils can have slopes ranging from 0.25 to 0.6%.Water from the supply ditch is diverted to these strips along which it flows slowly towardsthe downstream end and in the process it wets and irrigates the soil. When the water supply isstopped, it recedes from the upstream end to the downsteam end.The border strip method is suited to soils of moderately low to moderately high intakerates and low erodibility. This method is suitable for all types of crops except those whichrequire prolonged flooding which, in this case, is difficult to maintain because of the slope.This method, however, requires preparation of land involving high initial cost.(c) Check MethodThe check method of irrigation is based on rapid application of irrigation water to alevel or nearly level area completely enclosed by dikes. In this method, the entire field isdivided into a number of almost levelled plots (compartments or ‘Kiaries’) surrounded by levees.Water is admitted from the farmer’s watercourse to these plots turn by turn. This method issuitable for a wide range of soils ranging from very permeable to heavy soils. The farmer hasvery good control over the distribution of water in different areas of his farm. Loss of waterthrough deep percolation (near the supply ditch) and surface runoff can be minimised andadequate irrigation of the entire farm can be achieved. Thus, application efficiency is higherfor this method. However, this method requires constant attendance and work (allowing andclosing the supplies to the levelled plots). Besides, there is some loss of cultivable area which isoccupied by the levees. Sometimes, levees are made sufficiently wide so that some ‘row’ cropscan be grown over the levee surface.(d) Basin MethodThis method is frequently used to irrigate orchards. Generally, one basin is made forone tree. However, where conditions are favourable, two or more trees can be included in onebasin.(e) Furrow MethodIn the surface irrigation methods discussed above, the entire land surface is floodedduring each irrigation. An alternative to flooding the entire land surface is to construct smallchannels along the primary direction of the movement of water and letting the water flowthrough these channels which are termed ‘furrows’, ‘creases’ or ‘corrugation’. Furrows aresmall channels having a continuous and almost uniform slope in the direction of irrigation.Water infiltrates through the wetted perimeter of the furrows and moves vertically and thenlaterally to saturate the soil. Furrows are used to irrigate crops planted in rows.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 115dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 115Furrow lengths may vary from 10 metres to as much as 500 metres, although, 100 metresto 200 metres are the desirable lengths and more common. Very long furrows may result inexcessive deep percolation losses and soil erosion near the upstream end of the field. Preferableslope for furrows ranges between 0.5 and 3.0 per cent. Many different classes of soil have beensatisfactorily irrigated with furrow slope ranging from 3 to 6 per cent (1). In case of steepslopes, care should be taken to control erosion. Spacing of furrows for row crops (such as corn,potatoes, sugarbeet, etc.) is decided by the required spacing of the plant rows. The furrowstream should be small enough to prevent the flowing water from coming in direct contactwith the plant. Furrows of depth 20 to 30 cm are satisfactory for soils of low permeability. Forother soils, furrows may be kept 8 to 12 cm deep.Water is distributed to furrows from earthen ditches through small openings made inearthen banks. Alternatively, a small-diameter pipe of light weight plastic or rubber can beused to siphon water from the ditch to the furrows without disturbing the banks of the earthenditch.Furrows necessitate the wetting of only about half to one-fifth of the field surface. Thisreduces the evaporation loss considerably. Besides, puddling of heavy soils is also lessenedand it is possible to start cultivation soon after irrigation. Furrows provide better on-farmwater management capabilities for most of the surface irrigation conditions, and variable andsevere topographical conditions. For example, with the change in supply conditions, numberof simultaneously supplied furrows can be easily changed. In this manner, very high irrigationefficiency can be achieved.The following are the disadvantages of furrow irrigation:(i) Possibility of increased salinity between furrows,(ii) Loss of water at the downstream end unless end dikes are used,(iii) The necessity of one extra tillage work, viz., furrow construction,(iv) Possibility of increased erosion, and(v) Furrow irrigation requires more labour than any other surface irrigation method.3.10.3. Subsurface IrrigationSubsurface irrigation (or simply subirrigation) is the practice of applying water to soils directlyunder the surface. Moisture reaches the plant roots through capillary action. The conditionswhich favour subirrigation are as follows (1):(i) Impervious subsoil at a depth of 2 metres or more,(ii) A very permeable subsoil,(iii) A permeable loam or sandy loam surface soil,(iv) Uniform topographic conditions, and(v) Moderate ground slopes.In natural subirrigation, water is distributed in a series of ditches about 0.6 to 0.9 metredeep and 0.3 metre wide having vertical sides. These ditches are spaced 45 to 90 metres apart.Sometimes, when soil conditions are favourable for the production of cash crops (i.e.,high-priced crops) on small areas, a pipe distribution system is placed in the soil well below thesurface. This method of applying water is known as artificial subirrigation. Soils which permit

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116 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 116free lateral movement of water, rapid capillary movement in the root-zone soil, and very slowdownward movement of water in the subsoil are very suitable for artificial subirrigation. Thecost of such methods is very high. However, the water consumption is as low as one-third ofthe surface irrigation methods. The yield also improves. Application efficiency generally variesbetween 30 and 80 per cent.3.10.4. Sprinkler IrrigationSprinkling is the method of applying water to the soil surface in the form of a spray which issomewhat sililar to rain. In this method, water is sprayed into the air and allowed to fall on thesoil surface in a uniform pattern at a rate less than the infiltration rate of the soil. This methodstarted in the beginning of this century and was initially limited to nurseries and orchards. Inthe beginning, it was used in humid regions as a supplemental method of irrigation. Thismethod is popular in the developed countries and is gaining popularity in the developingcountries too.Rotating sprinkler-head systems are commonly used for sprinkler irrigation. Eachrotating sprinkler head applies water to a given area, size of which is governed by the nozzlesize and the water pressure. Alternatively, perforated pipe can be used to deliver water throughvery small holes which are drilled at close intervals along a segment of the circumference of apipe. The trajectories of these jets provide fairly uniform application of water over a strip ofcropland along both sides of the pipe. With the availability of flexible PVC pipes, the sprinklersystems can be made portable too.Sprinklers have been used on all types of soils on lands of different topography andslopes, and for many crops. The following conditions are favourable for sprinkler irrigation (1):(i) Very previous soils which do not permit good distribution of water by surface methods,(ii) Lands which have steep slopes and easily erodible soils,(iii) Irrigation channels which are too small to distribute water efficiently by surfaceirrigation, and(iv) Lands with shallow soils and undulating lands which prevent proper levelling re-quired for surface methods of irrigation.Besides, the sprinkler system has several features. For example, small amounts of watercan be applied easily and frequently by the sprinkler system. Light and frequent irrigationsare very useful during the germination of new plants, for shallow-rooted crops and to controlsoil temperature. Measurement of quantity of water is easier. It causes less interference incultivation and other farming operations. While sprinkler irrigation reduces percolation losses,it increases evaporation losses. The frequency and intensity of the wind will affect the efficiencyof any sprinkler system. Sprinkler application efficiencies should always be more than 75 percent so that the system is economically viable.The sprinkler method is replacing the surface/gravity irrigation methods in all developedcountries due to its higher water application/use efficiency, less labour requirements,adaptability to hilly terrain, and ability to apply fertilizers in solution. In India too, the grossarea under sprinkler irrigation has increased from 3 lakh hectares in 1985 to 5.80 lakh hectaresin 1989. The total number of sprinkler sets in India now exceeds one lakh.

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 117dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 1173.10.5. Trickle IrrigationTrickle irrigation (also known as drip irrigation) system comprises main line (37.5 mm to 70mm diameter pipe), submains (25 mm to 37.5 mm diameter pipe), laterals (6 mm to 8 mmdiameter pipe), valves (to control the flow), drippers or emitters (to supply water to the plants),pressure gauges, water meters, filters (to remove all debris, sand and clay to reduce clogging ofthe emitters), pumps, fertiliser tanks, vacuum breakers, and pressure regulators. The drippersare designed to supply water at the desired rate (1 to 10 litres per hour) directly to the soil.Low pressure heads at the emitters are considered adequate as the soil capillary forces causethe emitted water to spread laterally and vertically. Flow is controlled manually or set toautomatically either (i) deliver desired amount of water for a predetermined time, or (ii) supplywater whenever soil moisture decreases to a predetermined amount. A line sketch of a typicaldrip irrigation system is shown in Fig. 3.6. Drip irrigation has several advantages. It saveswater, enhances plant growth and crop yield, saves labour and energy, controls weed growth,causes no erosion of soil, does not require land preparation, and also improves fertilizerapplication efficiency. However, this method of irrigation does have some economic and technicallimitations as it requires high skill in design, installation, and subsequent operation.Porous pipeMulti-outletdistributorsSubmainNutrient tankFilterGate valveCheck valvewith bypassFrom pump orpressure supplyPressure regulatorSublateralloopLateral EmittersGate valveMain linePressurecontrol valveFig. 3.6 Line sketch of a typical drip irrigation systemTrickle irrigation enables efficient water application in the root zone of small trees andwidely spaced plants without wetting the soil where no roots exist. In arid regions, the irrigationefficiency may be as high as 90 per cent and with very good management it may approach theideal value of 100 per cent. The main reasons for the high efficiency of trickle irrigation are itscapability to produce and maintain continuously high soil moisture content in the root zoneand the reduction in the growth of weeds (due to limited wet surface area) competing with thecrop for water and nutrients. Insect, disease, and fungus problems are also reduced byminimising the wetting of the soil surface.Due to its ability to maintain a nearly constant soil moisture content in the root zone,Fig. 3.7, trickle irrigation results in better quality and greater crop yields. Fruits which containconsiderable moisture at the time of harvesting (such as tomatoes, grapes, berries,etc.) respondvery well to trickle irrigation. However, this method is not at all suitable (from practical aswell as economic considerations) for closely planted crops such as wheat and other cereal grains.

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118 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 1180 5 10 15 20FieldcapacityMoisturecontentWiltingpointDripmethodSprinklermethodSurfacemethodDaysFig. 3.7 Moisture availability for crops in different irrigation methodsOne of the major problems of trickle irrigation is the clogging of small conduits andopenings in the emitters due to sand and clay particles, debris, chemical precipitates, andorganic growth. In trickle irrigation, only a part of the soil is wetted and, hence it must beensured that the root growth is not restricted. Another problem of trickle irrigation is on accountof the dissolved salt left in the soil as the water is used by the plants. If the rain water flushesthe salts near the surface down into the root zone, severe damage to the crop may result. Insuch situations, application of water by sprinkler or surface irrigation may become necessary.Because of the obvious advantages of water saving and increased crop yield associatedwith the drip irrigation, India has embarked on a massive programme for popularising thismethod. The area under drip irrigation in India is about 71000 hectares against a world totalof about 1.8 million hectares (6). The area coverage is the highest in Maharashtra. (about33000 hectares) followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Cost of drip irrigation system inIndia varies from about Rs. 15000 to 40000 per hectare. The benefit-cost ratio (excluding thebenefit of saving in water) for drip irrigation system varies between 1.3 to 2.6. However, forgrapes this ratio is much higher and may be as high as 13.3.11. QUALITY OF IRRIGATION WATERNeeds of a healthy human environment place high demands on the quality of irrigation water.Irrigation water must not have direct or indirect undesirable effects on the health of humanbeings, animals, and plants. The irrigation water must not damage the soil and not endangerthe quality of surface and ground waters with which it comes into contact. The presence oftoxic substances in irrigation water may threaten the vegetation besides degrading thesuitability of soil for future cultivation. Surface water, ground water, and suitably treatedwaste waters are generally used for irrigation purposes. In examining the quality of irrigationwater, attention is focussed on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of such water.The effect of undissolved substances in irrigation water on the soil fertility depends ontheir size, quantity, and nutrient content as well as the type of soil. Fine-grained soil particlesin irrigation water may improve the fertility of light soils, but may adversely affect thepermeability and aeration characteristics of heavier soils. The undissolved substances maysettle in the irrigation systems and thus result either in the reduction of their capacity or even

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SOIL-WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION METHODS 119dharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 119failure of some installations such as pumping plants. The use of water having upleasant odourfor irrigation may unfavourably affect the farmers.The quality of irrigation water depends mainly on the type and content of dissolvedsalts. The problem arises when the total salt content of irrigation water is so high that thesalts accumulate in the root zone. The plant then draws water and nutrients from the salinesoil with great difficulty which affects the plant growth. The presence of toxic salts is harmfulto the plants.The suitability of irrigation water from biological considerations is usually decided bythe type and extent of biological animation.Special care should be taken when waste water is to be used for irrigation. Waste watersfor irrigation can be classified as municipal wastes, industrial wastes, and agricultural wastes.Waste waters selected for irrigation must be suitable and their use must be permissible fromthe sanitary and agricultural considerations as well as from the point of view of smooth operationof the irrigation system. Fields should be located in the immediate vicinity of the waste waterresources. The requirement of a minimum distance of about 200 m between the irrigated areaand residential buildings must be observed. Also, at a wind velocity of more than 3.5 m/s,sprinkler irrigation, using waste water, should not be used.EXCERCISES3.1 Describe important physical and chemical properties of soil which are important from considera-tions of irrigation.3.2 What is the meaning of consumptive use? On what factors does it depend? How would one calcu-late the consumptive use for a given crop?3.3 The field capacity and permanent wilting point for a given soil are 35 and 15 per cent, respec-tively. Determine the storage capacity of soil within the root zone of the soil which may be takenas 80 cm. At a given time the soil moisture in the field is 20 per cent and a farmer applies 25.0 cmof water. What part of this water would be wasted? Assume porosity of soil as 40 per cent andrelative density as 2.65.3.4 Determine the frequency of irrigation for the following data:Field capacity of soil 30%Permanent wilting point 10%Management allowed deficit 45%Effective root zone depth 0.75 mConsumptive use 12 mm/dayApparent specific gravity of soil(including the effect of porosity) 1.63.5 The consumptive use for a given crop is 90 mm. Determine the field irrigation requirement if theeffective rainfall and the irrigation efficiency in the area are 15 mm and 60 per cent, respec-tively.3.6 The following data were obtained in determining the soil moisture content at successive depthsin the root zone prior to applying irrigation water:Depth of sampling Weight of moist soil Weight of oven-driedsample soil sample0-25 cm 1.35 N 1.27 N25-50 cm 1.36 N 1.26 N50-75 cm 1.23 N 1.15 N75-100 cm 1.11 N 1.02 N

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120 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGdharmd:N-IengEgg3-1.pm5 120The bulk specific gravity of the soil in the root zone is 1.5. The available moisture-holding capac-ity of the soil is 17.8 cm/m depth of soil.Determine (i) the moisture content at different depths in the root zone, (ii) the moisture contentin the entire root zone prior to irrigation, and (iii) depth of water to be applied to bring themoisture content to the field capacity.3.7 For the following data pertaining to a cultivated land, determine irrigation interval and amountof irrigation water needed at each irrigation so that the moisture content at any stage does notfall below 40 per cent of the maximum available moistures.Field capacity of soil = 35%Permanent wilting point = 12%Porosity of soil = 0.42Depth of root-zone soil = 1.20 mConsumptive use = 12 mm per dayApplication efficiency = 60%3.8 Describe various methods of irrigation mentioning their advantages, disadvantages and appli-cability to different field conditions.REFERENCES1. Hansen, VE, OW Israelsen, and GE Stringham, Irrigation Principles and Practices, 4th ed., JohnWiley & Sons, 1979.2. Walker, WR and GV Skogerboe, Surface Irrigation: Theory and Practice, Prentice-Hall Inc., USA,1987.3. ...... Irrigation/Drainage and Salinity, FAO/UNESCO Publication, 1973.4. Bodman, GB and EA Coleman, Moisture and Energy Conditions during Downward Entry of Waterinto Soils, Proc. of American Society of Soil Science, 1943.5. ...... Training Manual on Irrigation Water Needs, FAO Publication, 1982.6. ...... Drip Irrigation in India, INCID, New Delhi, 1994.

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4.1. GROUND WATER RESOURCESThe amount of water stored in the earth’s crust may be of the order of 8 billion cubic kilometres,half of which is at depths less than 800 m (1). This water inside the earth is about 35 times thecombined storage of all the world’s rivers, fresh water lakes, reservoirs, and inland seas, and isabout one-third the volume of water stored in the arctic and antarctic ice fields, the glaciers ofGreenland, and the great mountain systems of the world (2). All of this ground water, however,cannot be utilised because of physiographic limitations.The estimate of the present ground water resource in India (3) is of the order of 650cubic kilometres (as against 1880 cubic km for surface water resources), out of which utilisableground water is assessed at around 420 cubic km (as against 690 cubic km for surface waterresources); see Table 1.4. Ground water is that part of the subsurface water which occurswithin the saturated zone of the earth’s crust where all pores are filled with water (2). Groundwater has also been referred to as that part of the subsurface water which can be lifted orwhich flows naturally to the earth’s surface. A hole or shaft, usually vertical, is excavated inthe earth to lift ground water to the earth’s surface and is termed a well. A well can also beused for disposal of water, artificial recharge, draining out agricultural lands, and relievingpressures under hydraulic structures. The Chinese are known to be the first to have drilleddeep wells using bamboo rods tipped with iron (2). The rods were lifted and dropped manuallyand the method was similar to the method now known as cable tool drilling. Ground waterflows to the earth’s surface through naturally discharging springs and streams and riverswhich are sustained by ground water itself when overland runoff is not present. Followingsignificant features of ground water should always be kept in mind while managing groundwater (2):(i) Ground water is a huge water resource, but is exhaustible and is unevenly available.(ii) Ground water and surface water resources are interrelated and, hence, should beconsidered together.(iii) Excessive and continued exploitation of ground water must be avoided as naturalreplenishment of the ground water resource is a very slow process.(iv) Ground water is generally better than surface water in respect of biological charac-teristics. On the other hand, surface water is generally better than ground water interms of chemical characteristics.(v) Ground water may be developed in stages on ‘‘pay-as-you-go’’ or ‘‘pay-as-you-grow’’basis. Surface water development usually needs large initial capital investment.121GROUND WATER AND WELLS4dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 121

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 122122 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING(vi) Underground reservoirs storing ground water are more advantageous than surfacereservoirs.(a) There is no construction cost involved in underground reservoirs. But, well construc-tion, pumps and energy for pumping water, and maintenance of pumps and wellsrequire money.(b) Underground reservoirs do not silt up, but surface siltation of recharge areas mayappreciably reduce recharge rates.(c) The evaporation from underground reservoirs is much less.(d) Underground reservoirs do not occupy the land surface which may be useful for someother purposes.(vii) Ground water is generally of uniform temperature and mineral quality and is free ofsuspended impurities.(viii) Ground water source has indefinite life, if properly managed.Ground water source is replenished through the processes of infiltration and percolation.Infiltration is the process by which the precipitation and surface water move downward intothe soil. Percolation is the vertical and lateral movement through the various openings in thegeological formations. Natural sources of replenishment include rainwater, melting snow orice and water in stream channels, and lakes or other natural bodies of water. Rainwater mayinfiltrate into the ground directly or while flowing over the land enroute to a river, or stream,or other water bodies. Artificial sources of replenishment (or recharge) include the following(2):(i) Leakage from reservoirs, conduits, septic tanks, and similar water related struc-tures.(ii) Irrigation, or other water applications including deliberate flooding of a naturallyporous area.(iii) Effluents discharged to evaporation or percolation ponds.(iv) Injection through wells or other similar structures.4.2. WELL IRRIGATIONIn view of the large amount of utilisable ground water, higher agricultural yield of tubewell-irrigated lands in comparison to that of canal-irrigated lands (see Table 1.3), and favourableimpact of its use on waterlogging, it is only logical to develop ground water resources forirrigation and other activities. Most of the existing canal systems in India are of a protectivenature,i.e., they provide protection against famine. They were not designed to promote intensivefarming. Well irrigation ensures more reliable irrigation and, therefore, enables the farmersto grow more remunerative crops with improved yield. The following are the main requirementsfor the success of well irrigation:(i) Presence of a suitable aquifer which can yield good quality water in sufficient quan-tity.(ii) Availability of energy, preferably electric power, for pumps.(iii) Well distributed demand for irrigation throughout the year.(iv) Suitable configuration of command area with the highest ground around the centreof the command area.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 123GROUND WATER AND WELLS 123In general, well irrigation is more efficient than canal irrigation. The following are thecomparative features of the two types of irrigation:(i) In the canal irrigation system, major structures, such as headworks, main and branchcanals, etc. must be constructed prior to the start of proportionate agricultural activ-ity which grows gradually because of the availability of irrigation facility. But, wellscan be constructed gradually to keep pace with the development of the agriculturalactivities of the area.(ii) Transit losses in well irrigation are much less than those in canal irrigation system.(iii) Isolated patches of high lands can be better served by well irrigation.(iv) Well irrigation offers an effective anti-waterlogging measure of the affected landsand reduces the chances of waterlogging of canal-irrigated lands.(v) Well irrigation ensures relatively more reliable supply of water at the time of need.This results in better yield. Besides, farmers can switch over to more remunerativecrops due to the availability of assured supply.(vi) Well irrigation needs energy for pumping. Installation and maintenance of pumpsand the cost of running the pumps make well irrigation costlier.(vii) Failure of power supply at the time of keenest demand may adversely affect theyield in case of well irrigation systems.It is thus obvious that both irrigation systems have advantages as well as disadvantages.Therefore, both must be used in a judicious manner to obtain maximum benefits, such thatthere is no waterlogging and the ground water resource can be maintained indefinitely.4.3. OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATERThe subsurface medium within which ground water occurs is either porous or fractured orboth. The subsurface occurrence of ground water can be divided into two zones (Fig. 4.1): (i)the vadose zone or unsaturated zone or zone of aeration, and (ii) the phreatic zone or saturatedzone or zone of saturation. In the saturated zone, all pores or voids are filled with water whereasin the unsaturated zone, pores contain gases (mainly air and water vapours) in addition towater.Soil waterIntermediate zoneCapillary waterPhreatic water(Ground water)Unsaturated zoneorZone of aerationorVadose zoneWater tableZone of saturationorPhreatic zoneorSaturated zoneFig. 4.1 Vertical distribution of subsurface water

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 124124 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGThe water table is defined as the upper limit of the saturated zone. However, it should benoted that all the pores near the base of the capillary water zone (which itself may range frompractically nothing in coarse material to about 2.5 m or more in clay materials) may be completelysaturated. The number of pores filled with water decreases in the upward direction of thecapillary water zone. One can, therefore, expect the upper limit of actual saturation to be anirregular surface. Water table should, therefore, be redefined as the upper limit of saturationat atmospheric pressure.The saturated zone containing interconnected pores may exceed depths penetrated byoil wells (more than 12,000 m). However, freshwater (part of the hydrologic cycle) is found onlyup to depths of about 800 m (2).A saturated geologic formation capable of yielding water economically in sufficientquantity is known as anaquifer (or water-bearing formation or ground water reservoir). Groundwater constantly moves through an aquifer under local hydraulic gradients. Thus, aquifersperform storage as well as conduit functions. Ground water may exist in aquifers in two differentmanners: (i) unconfined, and (ii) confined. The unconfined condition occurs when the watertable is under atmospheric pressure and is free to rise or fall with changes in the volume of thestored water. An aquifer with unconfined conditions is referred to as an unconfined or watertable aquifer. An aquifer which is separated from the unsaturated zone by an impermeable orvery less permeable formation is known as confined aquifer (or artesian aquifer or pressureaquifer). Ground water in a confined aquifer is under pressure which is greater than theatmospheric pressure. The water level in a well penetrating a confined aquifer indicates thepiezometric pressure at that point and will be above the bottom of the upper confining formation.Such wells are known as artesian wells and if the water level rises above the land surface, aflowing well results (Fig. 4.2).Recharge areaFlowingwellArtesian wellPiezometricsurfaceWater tableConfiningstratumUnconfinedaquiferWatertablewellConfinedaquiferImpermeablestratumFig. 4.2 Aquifers and wellsWater released from an unconfined aquifer is the result of dewatering or draining of theaquifer material. In the case of confined aquifer, the release of water is the result of a slightexpansion of water and a very small compression of the porous medium (2).

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 125GROUND WATER AND WELLS 125The availability, movement, and quality of ground water depend mainly on thecharacteristics of the medium. The following characteristics of the medium affect the availabilityand movement of ground water.Porosity can be defined as the ratio of the volume of pores to the total volume of theporous medium. It ranges from 0 to 50 per cent for most of the rock materials. For aquiferconsiderations, porosities less than 5% are considered small, those between 5% and 20% areconsidered medium and those greater than 20% are considered large (2). Porosity is, obviously,an inherent characteristic of the material independent of the presence or absence of water. Forground water studies, the interconnected pore space which can be drained by gravity shouldbe used for determining the porosity and such porosity is known as effective porosity.The specific yield of a soil formation is defined as the ratio of the volume of water whichthe soil formation, after being saturated, will yield by gravity to the volume of the soil formation.The specific retention of a soil formation is defined as the ratio of the volume of waterwhich the soil formation, after being saturated, will retain against the pull of gravity to thevolume of the soil formation.These definitions of specific yield and specific retention implicitly assume completedrainage. Obviously, the sum of the specific yield and the specific retention would be equal tothe porosity of the given soil formation. The product of the average specific yield of a saturatedwater-bearing formation and its total volume gives the volume of water which can be recoveredfrom the formation by gravity drainage. It may be noted that the time factor is not included inthe definition of specific yield. However, the gravity draining of a formation decreases withtime and may continue for years. Fine-grained materials may have lesser specific yield thancoarse materials even though their porosity may be greater (Fig. 4.3 and Table 4.1).1/16 1/8 1/4 1/2 1 2 4 8 16 32 64 128 256Grain size, d millimetres90ClayandsiltSandyclayFinesandFinesandMediumsandCoarsesandCoarsesandGravelsandFinegravelMediumgravelMediumgravelCoarsegravelCoarsegravelBoulders50454035302520151050PercentPorositySpecific yieldSpecific retentionFig. 4.3 Typical variation of porosity, specific yield, and specific retention with grain size (4)

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 126126 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGTable 4.1 Representative porosity and specific yield of selected earth materialMaterial Porosity % Specific yield %Clay 45 – 55 1 – 10Sand 25 – 40 10 – 30Gravel 25 – 40 15 – 30Sand and gravel 10 – 35 15 – 25Sandstone 5 – 30 5 – 15Shale 0 – 10 0.5 – 5Limestone 1 – 20 0.5 – 5In case of confined aquifers there is no dewatering or draining of the material unless thehydraulic head drops below the top of the aquifer. Therefore, the concept of specific yield doesnot apply to confined aquifers and an alternative term, storage coefficient or storativity is usedfor confined aquifers. Storativity or storage coefficient is defined as the volume of water anaquifer would release from or take into storage per unit surface area of the aquifer for a unitchange in head. Its value is of the order 5 × 10–2 to 1 × 10–5 (2). For the same drop in head, theyield from an unconfined aquifer is much greater than that from a confined aquifer.The permeability of a porous medium describes the ease with which a fluid will passthrough it. Therefore, it depends on the characteristics of the medium as well as the flowingfluid. It would be logical to use another term which reflects only the medium characteristics.This term is named intrinsic permeability, and is independent of the properties of the flowingfluid and depends only on the characteristics of the medium. It is proportional to the square ofthe representative grain diameter of the medium, and the constant of proportionality dependson porosity, packing, size distribution, and shape of grains.The permeability of a medium is measured in terms of hydraulic conductivity (also knownas the coefficient of permeability) which is equal to the volume of water which flows in unittime through a unit cross-sectional area of the medium under a unit hydraulic gradient at theprevailing temperature. The hydraulic conductivity, therefore, has the dimensions of [L/T]and is usually expressed as metres per day or metres per hour. It should be noted that anunsaturated medium would have lower hydraulic conductivity because of the resistance to aflow of water offered by the air present in the void spaces.The transmissivity, a term generally used for confined aquifers, is obtained by multiplyingthe hydraulic conductivity of an aquifer with the thickness of the saturated portion of theaquifer. It represents the amount of water which would flow through a unit width of thesaturated portion of the aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient and at the prevailingtemperature.Example 4.1 A ground water basin consists of 20 km2 of plains. The maximum fluctuationof ground water table is 3 m. Assuming a specific yield of 15 per cent, determine the availableground water storage.Solution: Ground water storage = area of basin × depth of fluctuation × specific yield= 20 × 106 × 3 × 0.15 = 9 × 106 m3Example 4.2 In an aquifer whose area is 100 ha, the water table has dropped by 3.0 m.Assuming porosity and specific retention of the aquifer material to be 30 per cent and 10 percent, respectively, determine the specific yield of the aquifer and the change in ground waterstorage.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 127GROUND WATER AND WELLS 127Solution: Porosity = specific yield + specific retention∴ Specific yield = porosity – specific retention = 30 – 10 = 20%.Reduction in ground water storage = 100 × 104 × 3.0 × 0.2= 60 × 104 m3.4.4. FLOW OF WATER THROUGH POROUS MEDIAGround water flows whenever there exists a difference in head between two points. This flowcan either be laminar or turbulent. Most often, ground water flows with such a small velocitythat the resulting flow is laminar. Turbulent flow occurs when large volumes of water convergethrough constricted openings as in the vicinity of wells.Based on a series of experiments conducted in the vertical pipe filled with sand, HenryDarcy, a French engineer, in 1856 concluded that the rate of flow, Q through a column ofsaturated sand is proportional to the difference in hydraulic head, ∆h, between the ends of thecolumn and to the area of flow cross-section A, and inversely proportional to the length of thecolumn, L. Thus,Q = KA∆hL(4.1)Here, K is the constant of proportionality and is equal to the hydraulic conductivity ofthe medium. Equation (4.1) is known as Darcy’s law and can also be written asV = K∆hL(4.2)in which, V is the specific discharge (or the apparent velocity of flow) and∆hLis the hydraulicgradient. Expressed in general terms, Darcy’s law, Eq. (4.2), becomesV = – Kdhds(4.3)in which, dh/ds is the hydraulic gradient which is negative, since h decreases in the positivedirection of the flow. Thus, flow along the three principal co-ordinate axes can be described asu = – Kx∂∂hx(4.4a)v = – Ky∂∂hy(4.4b)and w = – Kz∂∂hz(4.4c)Here, u, v, and w are the velocity components in the x-, y-, and z-directions, respectively,and Kx, Ky, and Kz are hydraulic conductivities (coefficients of permeability) in these directions.In Darcy’s law, the velocity is proportional to the first power of the hydraulic gradientand is, therefore, applicable to laminar flows only. For a flow through porous medium, Reynoldsnumber Re can be expressed asRe =Vdρµ

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 128128 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGHere, d is the representative average grain diameter which approximately representsthe average pore diameter, i.e., the flow dimension. ρ and µ are, respectively, the mass densityand the dynamic viscosity of the flowing water. An upper limit of Reynolds number rangingbetween 1 and 10 has been suggested as the limit of validity of Darcy’s law (4). A range ratherthan a unique value of Re has been specified in view of the possible variety of grain shapes,grain-size distribution, and their packing conditions. For natural ground water motion, Re isusually less than unity and Darcy’s law is, therefore, usually applicable.When Darcy’s law is substituted in the continuity equation of motion, one obtains theequation governing the flow of water through a porous medium. The resulting equations forconfined and unconfined aquifers are, respectively, as follows (5):∂∂+∂∂+∂∂222222hxhyhz=STht∂∂(4.5)and∂∂+∂∂2 222 22HxHy=2nKHt∂∂(4.6)Here, H represents the hydraulic head in unconfined aquifer and n is the porosity of themedium. Equations (4.5) and (4.6) are, respectively, known as Boussinesq’s and Dupuit’sequations. Both these equations assume that the medium is homogeneous, isotropic, and wateris incompressible. Equation (4.5) also assumes that large pressure variations do not occur.Equation (4.6) further assumes that the curvature of the free surface is sufficiently small forthe vertical components of the flow velocity to be negligible in comparison to the horizontalcomponent. For steady flow, Eqs. (4.5) and (4.6) become∂∂+∂∂+∂∂222222hxhyhz= 0 (4.7a)∂∂+∂∂=2 222 220HxHy(4.7b)4.5. WELL HYDRAULICSA well is a hydraulic structure which, if properly designed and constructed, permits economicwithdrawal of water from an aquifer (6). When water is pumped from a well, the water table(or the piezometric surface in case of a confined aquifer) is lowered around the well. The surfaceof a lowered water table resembles a cone and is, therefore, called the cone of depression. Thehorizontal distance from the centre of a well to the practical limit of the cone of depression isknown as the radius of influence of the well. It is larger for wells in confined aquifers than forthose in unconfined aquifers. All other variables remaining the same, the radius of influence islarger in aquifers with higher transmissivity than in those with lower transmissivity. Thedifference, measured in the vertical direction, between the initial water table (or the piezometricsurface in the confined aquifer) and its lowered level due to pumping at any location within theradius of influence is called the drawdown at that location. Well yield is defined as the volumeof water discharge, either by pumping or by free flow, per unit time. Well yield per unitdrawdown in the well is known as the specific capacity of the well.With the continued pumping of a well, the cone of depression continues to expand in anextensive aquifer until the pumping rate is balanced by the recharge rate. When pumping andrecharging rates balance each other, a steady or equilibrium condition exists and there is no

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 129GROUND WATER AND WELLS 129further drawdown with continued pumping. In some wells, the equilibrium condition may beattained within a few hours of pumping, while in others it may not occur even after prolongedpumping.4.5.1. Equilibrium EquationsFor confined aquifers, the governing equation of flow, Eq. (4.7a), can be written in polarcylindrical coordinates (r, θ, z) as1 22 222r rrhrhrhz∂∂∂∂FHG IKJ +∂∂+∂∂θ= 0 (4.8)If one assumes radial symmetry (i.e., h is independent of θ) and the aquifer to behorizontal and of constant thickness (i.e., h is independent of z), Eq. (4.8) reduces toddrrdhdrFHG IKJ = 0 (4.9)For flow towards a well, penetrating the entire thickness of a horizontal confined aquifer,Eq. (4.9) needs to be solved for the following boundary conditions (Fig. 4.4):(i) at r = r0, h = h0 (r0 is the radius of influence)(ii) at r = rw, h = hw (rw is the radius of well)QGround surfaceInitial piezometric surfaceDrawdown curverrr0r0ImpermeableConfinedaquiferImpermeablehhbbhwhwh0h0 2rwSlope=dhdrFig. 4.4 Radial flow to a well penetrating an extensive confined aquiferOn integrating Eq. (4.9) twice with respect to r, one obtainsrdhdr= C1and h = C1 ln r + C2 (4.10)in which C1 and C2 are constants of intergration to be obtained by substituting the boundaryconditions in Eq. (4.10) which yieldsh0 = C1 ln r0 + C2and hw = C1 ln rw + C2

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 132132 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGwhich can be approximated asrhr r∂∂FHG IKJ → 0= –QT2 π(iii) h(r, 0) = h0 (initial condition).Theis (7) obtained a solution of Eq. (4.24) by assuming that the well is replaced by amathematical sink of constant strength. The solution is expressed ass = h0 – h = –QTeuuu4 π−∞z du (4.25)in which u =r STt24where, t is the time since the beginning of pumping. Equation (4.25) is also written ass = –QT4πW(u) (4.26)in which, W(u) is known as the well function (Table 4.2) and is expressed as a function of u inthe form of the following convergent series:W(u) = – 0.5772 – ln u + u –u u u2 3 42 2 3 3 4 4×+×−×! ! !+ ... (4.27)An approximate form of the Theis equation (i.e., Eq. (4.25)) was obtained by Cooper andJacob (8) dropping the third and higher order terms of the series of Eq. (4.27). Thus,s = –QT4 π[– 0.5772 – ln u]or s = –QTTtr S40 252πln.LNM OQP∴ s = –0 183 2 252.log.QTTtr SLNM OQP (4.28)For values of u less than 0.05, Eq. (4.28) gives practically the same results as obtainedby Eq. (4.26). Note that Q is to be substituted as a negative quantity for a pumping well.Because of the non-linear form of Eq. (4.6), its solution is difficult. Boulton (9) haspresented a solution for fully penetrating wells in an unconfined aquifer. The solution is validif the water depth in the well exceeds 0.5 H0. The solution iss =QKH2 0π(1 + Ck) V (t′, r′) (4.29)in which, Ck is a correction factor which can be taken as zero for t′ less than 5, and according toTable 4.3 for t′ greater than 5 (when Ck depends only on r′). V (t′, r′) is Boulton’s well functiondependent on r′ and t′ defined ast′ =KtSH0and r′ =rH0

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-1.pm5 137GROUND WATER AND WELLS 137u =( ).350 4 104 0 145 24 602 4× ×× × ×−= 5.87 × 10–2∴ w (u) = 2.316and s =1500 24 604 0 145/( ).××π× 2.316= 1.32 m.4.5.3. Well InterferenceIf the zone of influence of two adjacent wells overlap (i.e., the wells are spaced at distancessmaller than the sum of their radii of influence), the wells affect each other’s drawdown anddischarge. This effect is due to what is known as well interference. As a result of wellinterference, even though the total output (i.e., the discharge) of a multiple well system increases,the efficiency of each well (measured in terms of the discharge per unit drawdown) of thesystem decreases. Since the equation of flow in a confined aquifer is a linear one, one can usethe principle of superposition to obtain the resulting drawdown at a point in a well field inwhich number of wells are being pumped simultaneously. This means, ifsi is the total drawdownat ith observation well on acount of pumping of N wells located in the well field, thensi = sijjN=∑1(4.30)in which, sij is the drawdown at ith observation well on account of pumping of jth well as if therewere no interference effects.Considering steady flow conditions for two wells in a confined aquifer located distance Bapart, the drawdown in the two wells sw1 and sw2 can be expressed assw1 =QTrrQTrBw1 0 2 02 2π πln ln+ , (4.31)sw2 =QTrBQTrrw1 0 2 02 2π πln ln+ (4.32)If Q1 = Q2 = Q, thensw1 = sw2 = h0 – hw =QTrBrw202πlnThis means,Qh hw0 −=202πTrBrwln(4.33)Since,lnrBrrrw w020> ln ,it is obvious that the efficiency of an individual well has reduced. On the other hand, Eq. (4.33)can also be written as20Qh hw− =200.5πTr Brwln [ / ( ) ](4.34)

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 138138 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGSince (Brw)0.5 >> rw, the value of (h0 – hw) is relatively less for a discharge of 2Q comparedto the value of (h0 – hw) when only a single well were to pump a discharge of 2 Q. This showsthat the efficiency of a multiple well system is higher compared to that of a single well. But,the efficiency of an individual well in a multiple well system is reduced.4.5.4. Wells Near Aquifer BoundariesThe equations for radial flow towards well assume infinite extent of aquifer. However, inpractice, there would be situations when a well may be located near hydrogeologic boundariesand the derived equations would not be applicable as such. The influence of such boundarieson ground water movement can be determined by the image well method.The image well method assumes straight line boundaries and replaces the real boundedfield of flow with a fictitious field of flow with simple boundary conditions such that the flowpatterns in the two cases are the same. Consider a pumping well located in the vicinity of astream (i.e., recharge or permeable boundary). Obviously, the drawdown at the stream onaccount of pumping well would be zero. This real flow system is now assumed to be replacedwith a fictitious flow system, Fig. 4.5. In addition to the real pumping well, the fictitious flowsystem has, in place of the boundary, an image well (which is a recharging one i.e., the onewhich pumps water into the aquifer) with the same capacity as that of the real well but locatedacross the real boundary on a perpendicular thereto and at the same distance as the real wellfrom the boundary. Obviously, this fictitious system would result in zero drawdown at thelocation of the boundary. This means that the flow condition of the real flow system is satisfiedby the flow condition of the fictitious flow system. If the boundary is a barrier (i.e., impermeable)boundary, the method remains the same but the image well is also a pumping well. It shouldbe noted that in the fictitious system the real and image wells operate simultaneously and thedrawdowns can be obtained by considering the fictitious system as a multiple well system.When an aquifer is delimited by two or more boundaries, the effect of the other boundaries oneach of the image wells is also to be considered. As a result, there would be several images, Fig.4.6. When the image wells are too far from the region of interest, their influence on the flowsystem in the region of interest is negligible and are, therefore, not included in the computations.G.S.Pumping well PerennialstreamAquiferHHImpermeableHH(a) Real flow systemImage plane(Zero drawdown boundary)XXXX QRechargingimage wellCone of impressiondue to image wellCone of depression due toreal well (without recharge source)QSxSxActual cone ofdepressionAquifer(b) Fictitious flow systemFig. 4.5 Simulation of recharge boundary

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 139GROUND WATER AND WELLS 13990°90°90°90°45°45°Discharging image wellRecharging image wellBarrier boundaryDischargingreal wellRechargeboundaryI2I4I5I7I6 I3I1I1BarrierboundaryDischargingreal wellBarrier boundaryI3I1RechargeboundaryBarrier boundaryDischargingreal wellI3 I2I2Fig. 4.6 Image well system for different pairs of boundaries4.6. GROUND WATER EXPLORATIONIt is known that everywhere on the earth there is some water under the surface. Ground waterplanners, however, need to know whether the conditions of the available ground water wouldpermit its economic withdrawal through wells. The purpose of ground water exploration is todelineate the water-bearing formations, estimate their hydrogeologic characteristics anddetermine the quality of water present in these formations. Some of the exploration methodsare briefly discussed in the following paragraphs.4.6.1. Remote SensingAerial photography, imaging (infra-red and radar) and low frequency electromagnetic aerialmethods are included in the ‘‘remote sensing’’ methods of ground water exploration.Valuable information associated with precipitation, evapotranspiration, interception,infiltration, and runoff can be inferred from aerial photographs by mapping the water area,geology and soil types, seepage areas, vegetation cover, and many other features (10). Satellitephotographs can also be used for this purpose.Recent developments in the nonvisible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum haveresulted in several imaging techniques which are capable of mapping earth resources. Infrared

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 140140 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGimagery is sensitive to the differential head capacity of the ground and can map soil moisture,ground water movement, and faults (11). Radar imagery works in the 0.01–3 m wavelengthrange and can penetrate vegetation cover to provide subsurface information, such as soilmoisture at shallow depths (12).Buried subsurface channels and salt water intrusion fronts can be successfully locatedby using recently developed aerial electromagnetic exploration methods which operate in thefrequency range of 3.0 to 9 kHz (13).4.6.2. Surface Geophysical MethodsSurface geophysical methods reveal specific details of the physical characteristics of the localsubsurface environment. This information can be interpreted suitably for the purpose ofdelineating the pre-glacial drainage pattern, mapping the location and extent of buriedpermeable deposits, direct exploration for ground water, and mapping of freshwater and saltwater contact (14). The electrical resistivity method and seismic refraction method are thesurface geophysical methods commonly used for ground water exploration.(i) Electrical Resistivity MethodThe electrical resistivity of a rock depends on porosity, salinity of the fluid in the porespaces, straightness or tortuosity of the interconnected pore spaces, presence of solid conductors,VIC CPPaa aa aa(i) Wenner arrangementVIC CPPaaL/2L/2b/2b/2(ii) Schlumberger arrangementL/2L/2b/2b/2r pa = 2 aVIra = Apparent resistivityv = Voltage differencebetween potentialelectrodes (P)I = Applied currentr pa =VI(L/2) – (b/2)b2 2Fig. 4.7 Electrode arrays for electrical resistivity method

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 141GROUND WATER AND WELLS 141such as clays or metallic minerals, and temperature (2). In the electrical resistivity method,electrical current is injected into the ground through two metal stakes (electrodes) and theresulting voltage between two other metal stakes is measured. The depth of measurement isdecided by the distance and the arrangement pattern of the four electrodes (Fig. 4.7) and thestandard calibration curves. The changes in the electrical resistance of different earth layersare thus determined. Table 4.5 lists a typical order of values of resistivity for some commonsoils. Using the table and the plot of electrical resistivity versus depth, one can determine thetype of subsurface layers at different depths. The electrical resistivity would vary with thesalinity of the water included in the pores of earth material. Therefore, one should be carefulin interpreting the results. It is advisable to prepare tables, similar to Table 4.5, or histogramsof the resistivity for different regions and use these for the interpretation of resistivitymeasurements.Table 4.5 Typical values of electrical resistivity for some soils (6)Earth material Electrical resistivity(ohm-metres)Clay 1 – 100Loam 4 – 40Clayey soil 100 – 380Sandy soil 400 – 4000Loose sand 1000 – 180,000River sand and gravel 100 – 4000Chalk 4 – 100Limestones 40 – 3000Sandstones 20 – 20,000Basalt 200 – 1000Crystalline rocks 103 – 106(ii) Seismic Refraction MethodThis geophysical method employs seismic waves to determine variations in the thicknessof the unconfined aquifer and the zone where the most permeable strata are likely to exist.The method is based on the velocity variation of artificially generated seismic waves in theground. Seismic waves are generated either by hammering on a metal plate, or by dropping aheavy ball, or by using explosives. The time between the initiation of a seismic wave on theground and its first arrival at a detector (seismometre) placed on the ground is measured. Forthe seismic refraction method, one is interested only in the arrival of the critically refractedray, i.e. the ray which encounters the boundary at such an angle that when it refracts in thelower medium, it travels parallel to the boundary at a higher velocity (2). The critically refractedray travelling along the boundary radiates wavefronts in all directions and some of whichreturn to the surface (Fig. 4.8). Using the appropriate formulas and the time-distance graph,one can determine the depth of the bedrock. Some representative values of refracted seismicwave velocities in different soils are given in Table 4.6. This method is more precise than theelectrical resistivity method in the determination of the depth to bedrock (2). The depth of

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 142142 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGXXXCXCDetector Hammer pointsDirectraysCritically refracted rayBedrockOverburdenTimeinmillisecondsXX metersFig. 4.8 Seismic-refracted rays and time-distance graphTable 4.6 Representative values of velocity of seismic refractedwaves in some soils (15)Material Velocity (m/s)Gravel, rubble or dry sand 457–915Wet sand 610–1830Clay 915–2740Water (depnding on temperature and salinity) 1430–1680Sea water 1460–1520Sandstone 1830–3960Shale 2740–4270Chalk 1830–3960Limestone 2130–6100Salt 4270–5180Granite 4570–5790Metamorphic rocks 3050–7010water table in sand gravel formation can also be determined accurately because of the suddenchange in seismic velocity at the water table. One important requirement for the seismicrefraction method to give accurate results is that the formations must be successively denserwith increasing depths.4.6.3. Well Logging MethodsSurface methods of ground water exploration do not give exact quantitative informationabout the subsurface environment. Quantitative information about subsurface strata can onlybe obtained by subsurface investigations which are conducted by personnel working on thesurface and the equipment being lowered underground. The equipment extending into theground measures one of several geophysical quantities, such as electrical resistivity, self-potential, temperature, gamma rays, and so on. Based on these measurements, well logs areprepared. For obtaining electrical resistivity log, one or more electrodes suspended on aconductor cable are lowered into a borehole filled with drilling fluid (6). An electric current ispassed between these electrodes and other electrodes placed on the ground. The logging

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 143GROUND WATER AND WELLS 143instrument measures the resistance to a flow of current between the electrodes. Thus theelectrical resistivity is measured at different depths. The resistivity of any stratum dependsprimarily on its characteristics and the mineral content of water contained in the stratum.Self potentials (or spontaneous potentials) are naturally-occurring electrical potentialswhich result from chemical and physical changes at the contacts between different types ofsubsurface geologic materials (6). For measuring the self potential at any depth, an electrodeis lowered into an uncased borehole filled with drilling fluid by means of an electric cableconnected to one end of a millivoltmeter. The other end of this millivoltmeter is connected to aground terminal at the surface which is usually placed in a mud pit. No external source ofcurrent is required.In gamma logging, natural radiation coming from different strata encountered in theborehole is measured. Such a log can yield qualitative information about subsurface strata.4.6.4. Test DrillingAll geophysical exploration methods – surface as well as subsurface – and remote sensingmethods are quicker and economic but yield results which may be interpreted in more thanone way. Test drilling, however, provides the most positive information about the subsurfaceconditions. Test drilling can predict the true geohydrologic character of subsurface formationsby drilling through them, obtaining samples, recording geologic logs, and conducting aquifertests (2). The following data are usually obtained in test drilling:(i) Identification, location, and elevation of the site of each hole,(ii) Geologic log of the strata penetrated,(iii) Representative samples of strata penetrated,(iv) Depth to static water level in each permeable stratum, and(v) Water quality samples and aquifer test data from water-bearing formations.Rotary drilling and cable tool drilling are commonly used methods of drilling wells. Therotary drilling method is fast and is the most economical method of drilling wells inunconsolidated formations. However, accurate logging of cuttings is relatively difficult andthe depth of water level cannot be predicted accurately unless electric logs have been taken forthis purpose. Care should be taken in distinguishing between valid cuttings carried in mudsuspension and the cuttings which have been delayed in reaching the surface. Cable tool drillingis suitable for drilling to moderate depths. Sampling of geologic materials is relatively moreaccurate and presents fewer difficulties. Cable tool drilling is, however, a more time-consumingmethod.A good lithologic well log presents variation in the geohydrologic character of subsurfaceformation with depth and also the depth of the water table.4.7. PUMPING TESTS (Or AQUIFER TESTS)Aquifer characteristics and its performance can be best described by its hydraulic conductivity,transmissivity, and storativity. These quantities can be determined by analysing the datacollected during aquifer tests or pumping tests. Measurements during an aquifer test includewater levels at observation wells (before the start of pumping, at intervals during pumping,and for some time after pumping), the discharge rate, and the time of any variation in thedischarge rate (2).

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 144144 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGIf the observations correspond to equilibrium conditions, one can use Eq. (4.16) forconfined aquifers and Eq. (4.21) for unconfined aquifers to determine the hydraulic conductivity.Thus, for two observation wells located at distances r1 and r2 (r2 > r1) from the pumping well,Eq. (4.16) yieldsK = –Q r rB h hlog ( / ). ( )2 12 12 73 −(4.35)in which, Q is negative for the pumping well. Similarly, Eq. (4.21) would yieldK = –Q r rH Hlog ( / ). ( )2 122121366 −(4.36)For non-equilibrium conditions in confined aquifer, Eq. (4.28) would yieldT =0 1832 121.( )logQs stt−(4.37)Here, s1 and s2 are the drawdowns in an observation well (r distance away from thepumping well) at two different times t1 and t2 (from the beginning of pumping), respectively. Ift2 is chosen as 10 t1 and s2 – s1 for this case be denoted by ∆s, Eq. (4.37) is reduced toT =0 183. Qs∆(4.38)Having known T, the storativity S can be determined from Eq. (4.28) by substitutingsuitable values of t ands obtained from the time-drawdown graph as illustrated in the followingexample.Example 4.5 A well pumps water at a rate of 2500 m3/day from a confined aquifer.Drawdown measurements in an observation well 120 m from the pumping well are as follows:Time since pump Drawdown s in Time since pump Drawdown s instarted in minutes metres started in minutes metres1 0.05 14 0.401.5 0.08 18 0.442 0.12 24 0.482.5 0.14 30 0.523 0.16 50 0.614 0.20 60 0.645 0.23 80 0.686 0.27 100 0.738 0.30 120 0.7610 0.34 150 0.8012 0.37Determine the aquifer characteristics S and T assuming that Eq. (4.28) is valid.Solution:From the time-drawdown graph (Fig. 4.9)∆s = 0.39 m

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 146146 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING(iv) To ensure long life (30–40 years) of well, and(v) To have reasonable installation, maintenance, and operation costs.The designer needs the following hydrogeologic information for making the design (6):(i) Stratigraphic information concerning the aquifer and overlying formations,(ii) Transmissivity and storage coefficient of the aquifer,(iii) The present and long-term water balance (i.e., inflow and outflow) conditions in theaquifer,(iv) Grain size analyses of unconsolidated aquifer materials and identification of rocksand minerals, and(v) Water quality.A water well has two main components – the casing and the intake portion. The casingserves as a vertical conduit for water flowing upward and also houses the pumping equipment.Some of the borehole length may, however, be left uncased if the well is constructed inconsolidated rock. The intake portion in unconsolidated and semi-consolidated aquifers is usuallyscreened. The well screen prevents fine aquifer material from entering the well with waterand also serves to retain the loose formation material. In consolidated rock aquifer, the intakeportion of the well may simply be an open borehole drilled into the aquifer.Standard design procedure for a water well involves the following steps:(i) Selection of strata to be screened,(ii) Design of well casing and housing pipe, and(iii) Design of well screen.Before starting a well design project it is worthwhile for the designer to study the design,construction, and maintenance of other wells in the area. The design practices may vary indifferent regions because of the hydrogeologic conditions.4.8.1. Selection of Strata to be ScreenedThe samples collected during drilling are sieve-analysed and a lithologic well log is prepared.This log describes the characteristics (type of material, size distribution, values of d10 or d17,d50, d60, etc., and uniformity coefficient d60/d10) of different subsurface strata. The lithologic loghelps determine the thickness and permeability of each aquifer. The aquifers to be screenedare thus decided.4.8.2. Design of Well Casing and Housing PipeThe well casing should meet the following requirements (16):(i) It should have a smooth exterior to minimise frictional resistance between the cas-ing and the subsurface formations.(ii) It should be of adequate size to permit the passage of drilling tools, operation of welldevelopment equipment, and installation of pumps. Its size must also assure theuphole velocity of 1.5 m/s or less so that the head loss is small.(iii) The walls of the casing pipe must be of sufficient thickness and suitable material toresist stresses and corrosive action of ground water environment. The life of thecasing pipe should be about 30 to 40 years after its installation. Cupronickel alloys,copper-bearing steel, stainless steel, P.V.C. pipes and fibre glass-reinforced epoxypipes are the desirable types for casing material.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 147GROUND WATER AND WELLS 147(iv) The field joints of the casing pipe must be leak-proof and have adequate strength.The casing pipe, when used as a housing pipe, should have sufficiently large diameter atthe housing elevation to accommodate the pump with enough clearance for its installation andoperation. The housing pipe should have its diameter at least 5.0 cm greater than the nominaldiameter of the pump and is set a few metres below the lowest drawdown level taking intoaccount seasonal fluctuations and future development of ground water in the area. Table 4.7presents recommended sizes of casing (i.e., well diameter) for different well yields.Table 4.7 Recommended well diameters for different pumping rates (6)Anticipated Nominal size of Optimum size of Smallest size ofpumping rate pump bowls well casing well casing(m3/day) (mm) (mm) (mm)Less than 540 102 152 ID 127 ID410– 950 127 203 ID 152 ID820– 1910 152 254 ID 203 ID1640– 3820 203 305 ID 254 ID2730– 5450 254 356 OD 305 OD4360– 9810 305 406 OD 356 OD6540– 16400 356 508 OD 406 OD10900– 20700 406 610 OD 508 OD16400– 32700 508 762 OD 610 OD4.8.3. Design of Well ScreenThe design of a well screen (i.e., its length, slot, open area, diameter, and material) is the mostimportant aspect of a well design. The basic requirements of a well screen are as follows (16):(i) It should be corrosion resistant,(ii) It should be strong enough to prevent collapse,(iii) It should prevent excessive movement of sand into the well, and(iv) It should have minimum resistance to the flow of water into the well.4.8.3.1. Length of Well ScreenThe intake portion of a well must, obviously, be placed in the zones of the maximum hydraulicconductivity. Such zones are determined by interpreting the lithologic log, visual inspectionand sieve analysis of the samples collected during drilling, laboratory tests for hydraulicconductivity and the results of pumping tests. The optimum length of the well screen dependsprimarily on the nature of the aquifer stratification and the permissible drawdown.In the case of a homogeneous unconfined aquifer of thickness less than 45 m the screeningof the bottom one-third to one-half of the aquifer is recommended (6). In thick and deep aquifers,however, as much as 80 per cent of the aquifer may be screened to obtain a higher specificcapacity and greater efficiency even though the resulting yield may be less. These guidelinesare applicable to non-homogeneous unconfined aquifers also. However, screen sections arepositioned in the most permeable layers of the lower portions of the aquifer (leaving depth ofabout 0.3 m at the upper and lower ends of the screen to prevent finer material of the transition

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 148148 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGzone from moving into the well) so that maximum drawdown is available. Wherever possible,the total screen length should be approximately one-third of aquifer thickness.For homogeneous confined aquifers, the central 80 to 90 percent of the aquifer thicknessshould be screened assuming that the water level in the well would always be above the upperboundary of the aquifer. In case of non-homogeneous confined aquifer, 80 to 90 per cent of themost permeable aquifer layers should be screened.If the effective size of two strata are the same, the stratum with lower uniformitycoefficient (i.e., relatively poorly graded) is more permeable and should, therefore, be screened.4.8.3.2. Well-Screen Slot OpeningsWell screen slot openings primarily depend on the size distribution of the aquifer material andalso on whether the well is naturally developed or filter-packed (i.e., artificially gravel-packed).Wells in aquifers with coarse-grained (d10 > 0.25 mm) and non-homogeneous material can bedeveloped naturally. But wells in aquifers with fine-grained and homogeneous material arebest developed using a filter pack (or gravel pack) outside the well screen.In a naturally developed well, the screen slot size is selected so that most of the fineraquifer materials in the vicinity of the borehole are brought into the screen and pumped fromthe well during development. The process creates a zone of graded formation materials extending0.3 to 0.6 m outward from the screen (6). The slot size for the screen of such wells can beselected from Table 4.8.Table 4.8 Selection of slot size for well screen (17)Uniformity coefficient of Condition of the overlying Slot size in terms ofthe aquifer being tapped material aquifer material size> 6 fairly firm; would not easily d70cave in> 6 soft; would easily cave in d50= 3 fairly firm; would not easily d60cave in= 3 soft; would easily cave in d40If more than one aquifer is tapped, and the average size of the coarsest aquifer is lessthan four times the average size of the finest aquifer, the slot size should correspond with thefinest aquifer. Otherwise, slot size must vary and correspond with the sizes of aquifer material(16). A more conservative slot size should be selected if: (i) there is some doubt about thereliability of the samples, (ii) the aquifer is thin and overlain by fine-grained loose material,(iii) the development time is at a premium, and (iv) the formation is well-sorted. Under theseconditions, slot sizes which will retain 40 to 50 per cent of the aquifer material (i.e., d60 to d50)should be preferred (6).In filter-packed wells, the zone in the immediate vicinity of the well screen is mademore permeable by removing some formation material and replacing it with specially gradedmaterial. This filter pack or gravel pack separates the screen from the aquifer material andincreases the effective hydraulic diameter of the well. A filter pack is so designed that it iscapable of retaining 90 per cent of the aquifer material after development. Well screen openingsshould be such that they can retain 90 per cent of the filter pack material (6). The filter packmaterial must be well graded to yield a highly porous and permeable zone around the well

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 149GROUND WATER AND WELLS 149screen. The uniformity coefficient of the filter pack should be 2.0 or less so that there is lesssegregation during placing and lower head loss through the pack. The filter pack materialshould be clean and well-rounded. Clean material requires less development time and alsoresults in little loss of material during development. Well-rounded grains make the filter packmore permeable which reduces drawdown and increases the yield. Further, the filter packmust contain 90 to 95% quartz grains so that there is no loss of volume caused by the dissolutionof materials. For minimum head loss through the filter pack and minimum sand movement,the pack-aquifer ratio (i.e., the ratio of the average size of the filter pack material to the averagesize of the aquifer material) should be as follows (16):Pack-aquifer Ratio(i) Uniform aquifer with uniform filter pack 9–12.5(ii) Non-uniform aquifer with uniform filter pack 11–15.5The thickness of the filter pack designed in this manner should be between 15 and20 cm.4.8.3.3. Open Area of Well-ScreenFor head loss through the well screen to be minimum, Peterson et al. (18) have suggested thatthe value of the parameter Cc Ap L/D should be greater than 0.53. Here, Cc is the coefficient ofcontraction for the openings, Ap the ratio of the open area to the total surface area of thescreen, L the screen length, and D is the diameter of well screen. Theoretical studies conductedat the UP Irrigation Research Institute have shown that the parameter Cc Cv Ap L/D should begreater than 1.77. Here, Cv is the coefficient of velocity. A factor of safety of 2.5 is furtherrecommended by Sharma and Chawla (16). This means that Cc Cv Ap L/D should be greaterthan 4.42.4.8.3.4. Diameter of Well ScreenThe screen diameter should be such that there is enough open area so that the entrance velocityof water generally does not exceed the design standard of 3 cm/s (6). Table 4.9 gives values ofthe optimum diameter for different values of the yield and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer.These values have been worked out considering the cost of screens, cost of boring and therunning expenses (16). USBR’s recommended values have also been given in Table 4.9.Table 4.9 Optimum diameter of well screen (16, 19)Well dischargeOptimum diameter of well screen in cm for USBR’s(m3/s)hydraulic conductivity equal to recommendedvalue of well0.04 cm/s 0.09 cm/s 0.16 cm/s screen diameter(cm)0.04 15 18 22 250.08 20 25 30 300.12 23 28 33 350.16 25 30 35 404.8.3.5. Entrance VelocityThe entrance velocity of water moving into the well screen should be kept below a permissiblevalue which would avoid movement of fine particles from the aquifer and filter pack to the

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 150150 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGwell. The permissible entrance velocity depends on the size distribution and the granularstructure of the aquifer material, the chemical properties of the ground water and shape of thescreen openings. Its exact evaluation is difficult. The permissible entrance velocity is usuallytaken as 3 cm/s for the design of the well screen (6, 16).4.8.3.6. Well Screen MaterialFour factors govern the choice of material used for the construction of a well screen. These are:(i) water quality, (ii) presence of iron, (iii) strength requirements of screen, and (iv) cost ofscreen. Quality analysis of ground water usually shows that the water is either corrosive orincrusting. Corrosive water is usually acidic and contains dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxidewhich accelerate the corrosion. Corrosion may further increase due to higher entrance velocities.Incrustation is caused due to precipitation of iron and manganese hydroxides and othermaterials from water. It is, therefore, important to use corrosion-resistant materials for thefabrication of a well screen. The following alloys (in decreasing order of their ability to resistcorrosion) or their suitable variations are used for the fabrication of well screens (16).(i) Monel alloy (or Monel metal) (70% nickel and 30% copper)(ii) Cupro-nickel (30% nickel and 70% copper)(iii) Everdur A alloy (96% copper, 3% silicon and 1% manganese)(iv) Stainless steel (74% low carbon steel, 18% chromium and 8% nickel)(v) Silicon red brass (83% copper, 1% silicon and 16% zinc)(vi) Anaconda brass (or Gilding metal) (85% copper and 15% zinc)(vii) Common yellow brass (67% copper and 33% zinc)(viii) Armco iron (99.84% pure iron)(ix) Low carbon steel(x) Ordinary cast iron.4.9. MEHODS OF WELL CONSTRUCTIONThe operations involved in well construction are drilling, installing the casing, placing a wellscreen and filter pack, and developing the well to ensure maximum sand-free water yield.Shallow wells, generally less than about 15 m deep, are constructed by digging, boring, drivingor jetting. Deep wells are constructed using drilling methods. Wells used for irrigation purposesare generally deep.4.9.1. DiggingWells in shallow and unconsolidated glacial and alluvial aquifers can be dug by hand using apick and shovel. Loose material is brought to the surface in a container by means of rope andpulleys. The depth of a dug well may vary from about 3 to 15 m depending upon the position ofthe water table. Dug wells usually have large diameter ranging from about 1 to 5 m. Dug wellsmust penetrate about 4 to 6 m below the water table. The yield of the dug wells is generallysmall and is of the order of about 500 litres per minute.4.9.2. BoringHand-operated or power-driven earth augers are used for boring a well in shallow andunconsolidated aquifers. A simple auger has a cutting edge at the bottom of a cylindrical

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 151GROUND WATER AND WELLS 151container (or bucket). The auger bores into the ground with rotary motion. When the containeris full of excavated material, it is raised and emptied. Hand-bored wells can be up to about20 cm in diameter and about 15 m deep. Power-driven augers can bore holes up to about 1 m indiameter and 30 m deep (4).4.9.3. DrivingIn this method, a series of connected lengths of pipe are driven by repeated impacts into theground to below the water table. Water enters the well through a screened cylindrical sectionwhich is protected during driving by a steel cone at the bottom. Driven wells can be installedonly in an unconsolidated formation relatively free of cobbles or boulders. The diameters ofdriven wells are in the range of about 3–10 cm. Such wells can be constructed up to about 10 m,if hand driven, and up to about 15 m when heavy hammers of about 300 kg are used. Themaximum yield of driven wells is usually around 200 litres per minute. The main advantage ofa driven well is that it can be constructed in a short time, at minimum cost, and by one man.4.9.4. JettingThe jetting (or jet drilling) method uses a chisel-shaped bit attached to the lower end of a pipestring. Holes on each side of the bit serve as nozzles. Water jets through these nozzles keep thebit clean and help loosen the material being drilled. The fluid circulation system is similar tothat of a direct rotary drilling method. With water circulation maintained, the drill rods andthe bit are lifted and dropped in manner similar to cable tool drilling but with shorter strokes.Jet drilling is limited to drilling of about 10 cm diameter wells to depths of about 60 m, althoughlarger diameter wells have been drilled up to about 300 m by this method (6). Other drillingmethods have replaced jet drilling for deep and larger diameter wells.4.9.5. Cable Tool DrillingIt is the earliest drilling method developed by the Chinese some 4000 years ago. A cable tooldrilling equipment mainly consists of a drill bit, drill stem, drilling jars, swivel socket, andcable (Fig. 4.10). The cable tool drill bit is very heavy (about 1500 kg) and crushes all types ofearth materials. The drill stem provides additional weight to the bit and its length helps inmaintaining a straight vertical hole while drilling in hard rock. The length of the drill stemvaries from about 2 to 10 m and its diameter from 5 to 15 cm. Its weight ranges from 50 to1500 kg. Drilling jars consist of a pair of linked steel bars and help in loosening the tools whenthese stick in the hole. Under the normal tension of the drilling line, the jars are fully extended.When tools get stuck, the drilling line is slackened and then lifted upward. This causes anupward blow to the tools which are consequently released. The swivel socket (or rope socket)connects the string of tools to the cable. The wire cable (about 25 mm in diameter) whichcarries and rotates the drilling tool on each upstroke is called the drill line. The cable tooldrilling rig mainly consists of a mast, a multiline hoist, a walking beam, and an engine. Drillcuttings are removed from the well by means of bailers having capacities of about 10 to350 litres. A bailer is simply a pipe with a valve at the bottom and a ring at the top for attachmentto the bailer line. The valve allows the cuttings to enter the bailer but prevents them fromescaping. Another type of bailer is called the sand pump or suction bailer which is fitted witha plunger. An upward pull on the plunger produces a vacuum which opens the valve and suckssand or slurried cuttings into the tubing. Most sand pumps are about 3 m long.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 152152 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGLevelling jacksEngineTruck-mountingbracketFuel tankPitmanHeel sheaveSpuddingbeamSpuddingbeam sheaveDrillbitOperatingleversDrillstemDrillingcableSwivelsocketToolguideCasing andsand linesheavesCrownsheaveShockabsorberRopesocketDrillstemJars Bailer DrillingbitDrilling bitsFig. 4.10 Line sketch of a typical cable tool drilling rig (6)While drilling through consolidated formations, most boreholes are drilled as ‘‘open hole’’,i.e., no casing is used during the drilling operation. In such conditions the cable tool bit isessentially a crusher. On the other hand, there is a danger of caving in while drilling throughunconsolidated formations. For this reason, the casing pipe must follow the drill bit closely tokeep the borehole open in unconsolidated formations. Also, in the case of such formations, thedrilling action of the bit is primarily a loosening and mixing process. Actual crushing wouldtake place only if a large stone or boulder were encountered.For the driving operation of the casing pipe, a drive head is fitted to the top of thecasing. The drive head serves as an anvil and protects the top of the casing. Similarly, a drive

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 153GROUND WATER AND WELLS 153shoe made of hardened and tempered steel is attached to the lower end of the casing pipe. Theshoe prevents the damage to the bottom end of the casing pipe when it is being driven. Thecasing is driven down by means of drive clamps, constructed of heavy steel forgings made inhalves, fastened to the top of the drill stem. Drive clamps act as the hammer face and the up-and-down motion of tools provides the weight for striking the top of the casing pipe and thusdriving it into the ground.The procedure for drilling through unconsolidated formation consists of repeated driving,drilling, and bailing operations. The casing pipe is initially driven for about 1 to 3 m in theground. The material within the casing pipe is then mixed with water by the drill bit to formslurry. The slurry is bailed out and the casing pipe is driven again. Sometimes, the hole isdrilled 1 to 2 m below the casing pipe; the casing is then driven down to the undisturbedmaterial and drilling is resumed. The drilling tools make 40 to 60 strokes of about 40 to 100 cmlength every minute. The drill line is rotated during drilling so that the resulting borehole isround. The slurry formed by the mixing of cuttings with added water (if not encountered in theground) reduces the friction on the cutting bit and helps in bailing operations.If the friction on the outside of the casing pipe increases so much that it cannot bedriven any more or if further driving might damage the pipe, a string of smaller casing isinserted inside the first one. Drilling is thus continued. Sometimes, two or three such reductionsmay be required to reach the desired aquifer. The diameter of the well is reduced. If such asituation is anticipated, the casing in the upper part should be of larger diameter. The drillingprocess through consolidated formation, not requiring casing, would consist of repeated drillingand bailing operations only.The cable tool method has survived for thousands of years mainly because of its suitabilityin a wide variety of geological conditions. It offers the following advantages (6):(i) Cable tool drilling rigs are relatively cheaper.(ii) The rigs are simpler and do not require sophisticated maintenance.(iii) The machines have low power requirements.(iv) The borehole is stable during the entire drilling operation.(v) Recovery of reliable samples is possible at every depth.(vi) Wells can be drilled in water-scarce areas.(vii) Because of their size, the machines can be operated in more rugged, inaccessibleterrain or in other areas where limited space is available.(viii) Wells can be drilled in formations where water is likely to be lost.Slow driling rate, higher cost of casing pipe, and difficulty in pulling back long strings ofcasing pipes are some of the disadvantages of cable tool drilling.4.9.6. Direct Rotary DrillingDirect rotary drilling is the fastest method of drilling deep wells of diameters of up to 45 cm (ormore with the use of reamers) through unconsolidated formations. The drilling bit is attachedto a heavy drill pipe which is screwed to the end of the kelly which is a drill pipe of squaresection (Fig. 4.11). The drill collar or stabilizer helps in maintaining, straight hole in softformations through its large wall contact. The drill pipe is turned by a rotating table which fitsclosely round the kelly and allows the drill rod to slide downward as the hole deepens. Thedrilling rig consists of a mast, a rotating table, a pump, a hoist, and an engine. The borehole isdrilled by rotating a hollow bit attached to the lower end of a string of a drill pipe. Cuttings are

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 154154 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGBitDrill collarKellyDrill pipeDrill pipeFig. 4.11 Drill string for rotary drillingremoved continuously by pumping drilling fluid (a mixture of clay and water with some additivesto make it viscous) down the drill pipe and through the orifices in the bit. The drilling fluidthen flows upward through the annular space between the drill pipe and the borehole, carryingthe cuttings in suspension to the surface settling pits where the cuttings settle down in thepits. The clear drilling fluid is pumped back into the borehole. The settling pits can either beportable or excavated for temporary use during drilling and then backfilled after completion ofthe well. Usually no casing is required during drilling because the drilling mud forms a claylining on the borehole walls which prevents the formation materials from caving in. Afterdrilling, the casing pipe with perforated sections opposite the aquifers is lowered into theborehole. The drilling rotary method has become the most common due to its followingadvantages (6):(i) Drilling rates are relatively high.(ii) Minimum casing is required during drilling.(iii) Rig mobilisation and demobilisation are fast.(iv) Well screens can be set easily as part of the casing installation.Some of the major disadvantages of the direct rotary method are as follows (6):

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 155GROUND WATER AND WELLS 155(i) Drilling rigs are expensive.(ii) It is costly to maintain them.(iii) The mobility of the rigs is restricted depending on the slope and wetness of the landsurface.(iv) The collection of accurate samples requires special procedure.(v) The drilling fluid may cause the plugging of some aquifer formations.4.9.7. Reverse Rotary DrillingThe direct rotary drilling method is capable of drilling boreholes with a maximum diameter ofabout 60 cm. High-capacity wells, particularly those with filter pack, need to be much larger insize. Besides, the drilling rate becomes smaller with increase in borehole diameter in the caseof direct rotary drilling. To overcome these limitations, the reverse rotary drilling techniquehas been developed. This technique is capable of drilling boreholes of about 1.2 m diameter inunconsolidated formation. Recently, the reverse rotary method has been used in soft consolidatedrocks such as sandstone, and even in hard rocks using both water and air as the drilling fluid(6).In reverse rotary drilling, the flow of the drilling fluid is opposite to that in direct rotarydrilling. The reverse rotary drilling rig is similar to the direct rotary drilling rig except that itrequires larger-capacity centrifugal pumps, a larger diameter drill pipe, and other componentsalso of larger size. The drilling fluid moves down the annular space between the borehole walland the drill pipe, and picks up the cuttings before entering the drill pipe through the ports ofthe drill bit. The drilling fluid, along with its cuttings load, moves upwards inside the drill pipewhich has been connected to the suction end of the centrifugal pump through the kelly andswivel. The mixture is brought to a settling pit where the cuttings settle at the bottom and thedrilling fluid (i.e., muddy water) moves down the borehole again. The drilling fluid is usuallywater mixed only with fine-grained soil. The hydrostatic pressure and the velocity head of thedrilling fluid moving down the borehole supports the borehole wall. To prevent the formationfrom caving in, the fluid level must always be up to the ground surface even when drilling issuspended temporarily. The advantages of the reverse rotary drilling method are as follows(6):(i) The formation near the borehole is relatively undisturbed compared to other meth-ods.(ii) Large-diameter holes can be drilled rapidly and economically.(iii) No casing is required during the drilling operation.(iv) Well screens can be set easily while installing the casing.(v) The boreholes can be drilled through most geologic formations, except igneous andmetamorphic rocks.(vi) Because of the low velocity of the drilling fluid, there is a little possibility of itsentering the formation.The disadvantages of the reverse rotary drilling method are as follows (6):(i) A large quantity of water is needed.(ii) The reverse rotary drilling rig is costlier because of larger size of equipment.(iii) Large mud pits are required.(iv) Some drill sites may be inaccessible because of the larger size of the rig.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-2.pm5 156156 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING4.10. WELL COMPLETIONAfter drilling a well, the well screen and filter pack (wherever necessary) are to be placed andthe casing removed. If the formations are sufficiently strong and stable, ground water maydirectly enter the uncased well. In unconsolidated formations, however, a casing with perforation(or a well screen) is needed to support the outside material and also to admit water freely intothe well.The installation of the well screen and the removal of the casing is best done by the pull-back method in which the casing is installed to the full depth of the well and the well screen,whose size is smaller than that of casing, is lowered inside the casing. The casing is then pulledback or lifted far enough to expose the screen to the water-bearing formation (Fig. 4.12).CasingDriveshoeBailbottomRiserpipeWellscreenRubberpackerFig. 4.12 Pull-back method of installing screenIn the case of rotary-drilled wells, setting the casing to the bottom of the hole and thenpulling it back may appear to be extra and unnecessary work in view of the drilling fluidsupporting the borehole wall. But this extra work prevents serious problems which may ariseon account of premature caving in which may occur when the viscosity of the drilling fluid isreduced prior to development. This casing is also useful when there is likely to be a longerperiod between drilling and screen installation, and during which period a momentary loss ofdrilling fluid may cause partial collapse of the borehole.A filter pack is generally placed in large-diameter wells by the reverse circulation of thefluid in the well as the filter pack material is fed into the annular space outside the screen bya continuous-feed hopper. When the filter pack material fills the space around the well screen,the transporting water is drawn upward through the screen openings (Fig. 4.13).

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 157GROUND WATER AND WELLS 157GaugeBlow-outpreventerDrill pipeFrom filter pack sourceSurface casingSetting toolTelltale screenRiser pipeStinger pipeWell screenFilter packFilter packFig. 4.13 Filter packing of wells4.11. DEVELOPMENT OF WELLSDrilling operations for well excavation change the hydraulic characteristics of the formationmaterials in the vicinity of the borehole. Very often, these changes result in the reduction ofthe hydraulic conductivity close to the borehole. When a well is drilled with a cable tool rigequipped with a casing driver, the repeated blows on the casing rearrange the grains in thevicinity of the casing. In rotary drilling methods, the drilling fluids containing clay may flowinto the aquifer for some distance and thus plug the pore spaces of the permeable formation.Before commissioning the well for use, it is, therefore, necessary to repair the damage done tothe aquifer by the drilling operations. Besides, there is also a need to improve the basic physicalcharacteristics of the aquifer in the vicinity of the well screen so that water can flow morefreely into the well. A well is, therefore, ‘developed’ in order to attain these two objectives, andthus, maximise well yield. Well development involves applying some form of energy to thewater-bearing formation in the vicinity of the well so as to remove fine materials (includingdrilling mud) from the aquifer and rearrange formation particles so that the well yields clearsand-free water in maximum quantity with minimum drawdown. Well development servesthe following beneficial purposes :(i) It increases the permeability of the aquifer material surrounding the well and filterpack (if present) by:

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 158158 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING(a) reducing the compaction and intermixing of grains of different sizes during drill-ing by removing fine grains,(b) removing the filter cake or drilling fluid film that coats the borehole,(c) removing much or all of the drilling fluid which has entered the aquifer,(d) breaking sand-grain bridging across the screen openings, and(e) increasing the natural porosity of the previously undisturbed formation near theborehole by removing the finer fraction of the aquifer material.(ii) It creates a graded zone of aquifer material around the screen in a naturally devel-oped well. This effect stabilises the formation so that the well will yield sand-freewater.(iii) It reduces the head loss near the well screen.(iv) It increases the useful life of the well screen.(v) It brings the well to its maximum specific capacity, i.e., the maximum yield at mini-mum drawdown.The methods usually adopted for well development are as follows (6):(i) Overpumping,(ii) Backwashing.(iii) Mechanical surging,(iv) Air surging and pumping,(v) High-velocity jetting, and(vi) High-velocity water jetting combined with simultaneous pumping.There are several variations of most of these methods (16). Only the main features ofthese methods have been described in the following paragraphs.4.11.1. OverpumpingIn the ovrpumping method, the well is pumped at a discharge rate higher than the dischargerate of the well during its normal operation. The logic of the method is that any well which canbe pumped sand-free at a high rate can be pumped sand-free at a lower rate. It is the simplestmethod of developing wells. However, the development by this method is not effective and thedeveloped well is seldom efficient. The aquifer material is also not fully stabilised. Thisincomplete development is due to the following reasons:(i) Water flows in only one direction and some sand grains may be left in a bridgedcondition. The formation is thus partially stabilised.(ii) Most of the development takes place in the most permeable zones of the aquiferwhich are usually closest to the top of the screen. Therefore, less development takesplace in the lower layers of the aquifer.Besides, this method generally uses the pump intended for regular use during the normaloperation of the well. Pumping of silt-laden water at higher rates can reduce efficiency of thepump.4.11.2. BackwashingReversal of flow through the screen openings agitates the aquifer material, removes the finerfraction and rearranges the remaining aquifer particles. These effects usually cause effective

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 159GROUND WATER AND WELLS 159development of the well. The ‘‘rawhiding’’ method of backwashing consists of alternately liftinga column of water significantly above the pumping level and then letting the water fall backinto the well. To minimise the changes of sand-locking the pump, its discharging rate shouldbe gradually increased to the maximum capacity before stopping the pump. During this process,the well is occasionally pumped to waste to remove the sand brought to the well by the surgingaction of this method of well development. As in the case of the overpumping method, thesurging action may be concentrated only in the upper layers of the aquifer. Besides, the surgingeffect is not vigorous enough to cause maximum benefits. When compared with other methodsof well development, the overall effectiveness of backwashing as well as overpumping methodsin case of high-capacity wells is rather limited.4.11.3. Mechanical SurgingIn this method, a close-fitting surge plunger, moving up and down in the well casing, forceswater to flow into and out of the well screen. The initial movements of the plunger should berelatively gentle so that the material blocking the screen may go into suspension and thenmove into the well. To minimise the problem of the fine materials going back to the aquiferfrom the well, the fine material should be removed from the well as often as possible. Thesurging method is capable of breaking sand bridges and produces good results. However, it isnot very effective in developing filter-packed wells because the water movement is confinedonly up to the filter pack and the aquifer remains unaffected by the surging action.4.11.4. Air Surging and PumpingThis method requires two concentric pipes – the inner pipe known as the air line and the outerone known as the pumping pipe (or eductor pipe). The assembly of these pipes is lowered intothe well. In air surging, compressed air is injected through air line into the well to force aeratedwater up through the annular space between the air line and the pumping pipe. As this aeratedwater reaches the top of the casing, the air supply is stopped so that aerated water columnstarts falling. Air-lift pump is used to pump the well periodically to remove the sand broughtinto the well as a result of air surging. The compressed air produces powerful surging action.This method is used to develop wells in consolidated and unconsolidated formations.4.11.5. High-Velocity JettingThis method consists of shooting out high-velocity jets of water from a jetting tool to the aquiferthrough the screen openings. The equipment of this method consists of a jetting tool providedwith two or more equally spaced nozzles, high-pressure pump, high-pressure hose andconnections, and a water supply source. The forceful action of high-velocity jets loosens thedrilling mud and agitates, and rearranges the sand and gravel paritcles around the well. Theloosened material is removed by pumping. In this method of development, the entire surface ofthe screen can be subjected to vigorous jet action by slowly rotating and gradually raising andlowering jetting tool.This method has the following advantages:(i) The energy is concentrated over a small area with greater effectiveness.(ii) Every part of the screen can be developed selectively.(iii) The method is relatively simple.The method of jetting is particularly successful in developing highly stratified andunconsolidated water-bearing formations.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 160160 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING4.11.6. High-Velocity Water Jetting Combined with Simultaneous PumpingThe method of high-velocity water jetting results in very effective development of wells. But,maximum development efficiency can be obtained by combining high-velocity water jettingwith simultaneous air-lift pumping method (Fig. 4.14). The method requires that the volumeof water pumped from a well will always be more than that pumped into it so that the waterlevel in the well is always below the static level and there is a continuous movement of waterfrom the aquifer to the well. This would help remove some of the suspended material loosenedby the jetting operation (6).FilterpackWellscreenCasingAir lineGroutFig. 4.14 Jetting and air-lift pumping4.12. PUMPING EQUIPMENT FOR WATER WELLSIn most wells, the static water level is below the ground surface and, hence, flowing wells arerare. The water has to be lifted from inside the well to the ground surface. Rope and bucketwith or without windlass have been used and are still used for shallow wells and for lowdischarges. For deeper wells and high yields of water, pumps have to be used.The purpose of installing pumps in wells is to lift water from inside the well to theground surface. Pumps can be broadly classified as shallow well pumps and deep well pumpsdepending upon the position of the pump and not the depth of the well. A shallow well pump isinstalled on the ground and lifts water from the well by suction lift. A deep well pump isinstalled within the well casing and its inlet is submerged below the pumping level. If thepumping level is lower than the limit of a suction lift (about 7.5 m), only the deep well pumpshould be used.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 161GROUND WATER AND WELLS 161Pumps are also classified on the basis of their design as positive displacement pumpsand variable displacement pumps (6). Positive displacement pumps discharge almost the samevolume of water irrespective of the head against which they operate. The input power, however,varies in direct proportion to the head. Such pumps are used extensively in ground watermonitoring wells, hand pump-equipped wells, and wind-powered wells. They are rarely usedfor large-capacity water wells. The most common type of positive displacement pumps is thepiston pump.The variable displacement pumps are used for large-capacity wells. For these pumps,there is an inverse relationship between the discharge and the working head. Maximum inputpower is required when the pump has to operate at low heads delivering large volumes ofwater. The major types of variable displacement pumps are as follows (6):(i) Centrifugal pumps:(a) suction lift pump,(b) deep-well turbine pump, and(c) submersible turbine pump.(ii) Jet pumps(iii) Air-lift pumps4.12.1. Centrifugal PumpsCentrifugal pumps are the most popular. They are capable of delivering large volumes of wateragainst high as well as low head with good efficiency. Besides, these pumps are relativelysimple and compact. The basic principle of centrifugal pumping can be understood by consideringthe effect of swinging a bucket of water around in a circle at the end of a rope. The centrifugalforce causes the water to press against the bottom of the bucket rather than spill out of thebucket. If a hole is cut in the bottom, water would discharge through the opening at a velocitywhich would depend on the centrifugal force. If an airtight cover were put on the bucket top, apartial vacuum would be created inside the bucket as the water would leave through the openingin the bottom. If a water source is connected to the airtight cover through an intake pipe, thepartial vacuum will draw additional water into the bucket as the water is being dischargedthrough the bottom hole. The bucket and cover of this example correspond to the casing of acentrifugal pump; the discharge hole and the intake pipe correspond to the pump outlet andinlet, respectively; the arm that swings the bucket corresponds to the energy source and therope performs the function of a pump impeller.Suction-lift pumps create negative pressure at the pump intake. The atmosphericpressure at the free surface of water in the well forces the well water into and up the intakepipe. The maximum suction lift depends on the atmospheric pressure (10.4 m of water head),vapour pressure of water, head loss due to friction, and the head requirements of the pumpitself. Under field conditions, the average suction-lift capability of a suction-lift centrifugalpump is about 7.5 m (6).A deep-well vertical turbine pump consists of one or more impellers housed in a single-or multi-stage unit called a bowl assembly. Each stage gives a certain amount of lift and sufficientnumber of stages (or bowl assemblies) are assembled to meet the total head requirement of thesystem (6).Vertical turbine pumps in high-capacity wells are highly reliable over long periods oftime. The motors of these pumps are not susceptible to failure caused by fluctuations in electricsupply. Motor repairs can be carried out easily because of their installation on the ground

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 162162 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGsurface. These pumps, however, cannot be used in wells which are out of the alignment. Besides,these pumps require highly skilled personnel for installation and service.Submersible pumps have bowl assemblies which are the same as those of vertical turbinepumps. But, the motor of the submersible pump is submerged and is directly connected to andlocated just beneath the bowl assembly. Water enters through an intake screen between themotor (at lower level) and the bowl assembly (at higher level), passes through various stages,and is discharged directly through the pump column to the surface (6).The motor of a submersible pump is directly coupled to impellers and is easily cooledbecause of complete submergence. Ground surface noise is also eliminated. The pump can bemounted in casings which are not entirely straight. The pump house is also not necessary.There are, however, electrical problems associated with submerged cables. These pumps cannottolerate sand pumping and work less efficiently. The motor is less accessible for repairs andcannot tolerate voltage fluctuations.4.12.2. Jet PumpsThe jet pump is a combination of a centrifugal pump and a nozzle-venturi arrangement asshown in Fig. 4.15. The nozzle causes increased velocity and reduced pressure at point A. Thelowered pressure at A draws additional water from the intake pipe and this water is added tothe total volume of water flowing beyond A. The venturi tube helps in the recovery of pressureat B with minimum loss of head. Compared to centrifugal pumps, jet pumps are inefficient buthave some advantageous features too. These are adaptable to small wells down to a 5 cminside diameter. All moving parts of the jet pump are accessible at the ground surface. Theirdesign is simple and results in low equipment and maintenance costs.Impeller To usePumpFoot valvePressure pipeSuction pipeBCAVenturi tubeNozzleIntake pipeFig. 4.15 Jet pump (6)

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 163GROUND WATER AND WELLS 1634.12.3. Air-Lift PumpsWater can also be lifted inside a well by releasing compressed air into an air discharge pipe(air line) lowered into the well. Because of the reduced specific gravity, aerated water is liftedto the ground surface. Air-lift pumping is inefficient and requires cumbersome and expensiveequipment and is, therefore, rarely used as a permanent pumping system.The main factors which must be considered while selecting a pump for water well arethe anticipated pumping conditions, specific installation and maintenance conditions, and thebasic pump characteristics. As in well construction, the initial cost of a pump and its installationare relatively less important than the performance, reliability, and operating costs during thelife span of the pumping equipment.EXERCISES4.1 In what respects is ground water better than surface water? Compare well irrigation with canalirrigation.4.2 What is the meaning of conjunctive use? Why is it useful to consider it in water resources plan-ning?4.3 Compare surface and subsurface methods of ground water exploration.4.4 Discuss in brief the steps for designing various components of a water well.4.5 Describe different methods of well drilling, mentioning their merits and suitability for differentfield conditions.4.6 What are the benefits of well development? Describe various methods of well development.4.7 A constant head permeability test was carried out on a soil sample of diameter 10 cm and length15 cm. If 100 cc of water was collected in 100 s under a constant head of 50 cm, determine thecoefficient of permeability of the soil sample.4.8 Calculate the amount of water flowing into a coastal aquifer extending to a length of 30 km alongthe coast for the following data:Average permeability of the aquifer = 40 m/dayAverage thickness of the aquifer = 15 mPiezometric gradient = 5 m/km4.9 A 20 cm well completely penetrates an artesian aquifer. The length of the strainer is 16 m. Whatis the well yield for a drawdown of 3 m when the coefficient of permeability and the radius ofinfluence are 30 m/day and 300 m, respectively.4.10 A well with a radius of 0.5 m completely penetrates an unconfined aquifer with K = 32 m/day andthe height of water table above the bottom of the aquifer being 45 m. The well is pumped so thatthe water level in the well remains 35 m above the bottom of the well. Assuming that pumpinghas essentially no effect on the water table at a distance of 300 m from the well, determine thesteady-state well discharge.4.11 A fully penetrating artesian well is pumped at a rate of 1500 m3/day from an aquifer whose Sand T values are 4 × 10–4 and 0.145 m2/min, respectively. Find the drawdowns at a distance 3 mfrom the production well after one hour of pumping, and at a distance of 350 m after one day ofpumping.4.12 The values of drawdowns were observed in an observation well located at a distance of 3 m froma fully penetrating artesian well pumping at 2.2 litres per second. The drawdowns were 0.75 and0.95 m after two and four hours of pumping respectively. Determine the aquifer constants S andT.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg4-3.pm5 164164 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING4.13 Two tubewells of 200 mm diameter are spaced at 120 m distance and penetrate fully a confinedaquifer of 12 m thickness. What will be the percentage decrease in the discharge of each of thesewells as a result of pumping both wells simultaneously with a depression head (i.e. drawdown) of3 m in either case. Assume permeability of the aquifer as 40 m/day and the radius of influence as200 m.REFERENCES1. Nace, RL, Water Management, Agriculture, and Ground Water Supplies, USGS Circular 415,1960.2. ...... Ground Water Management, 3rd ed., ASCE Manuals and Reports of Engineering PracticeNo. 40, New York.3. Jain, JK, India: Underground Water Resources, Phil. Trans. Royal Society of London, 1977.4. Todd, DK, Ground Water Hydrology, John Wiley & Sons, 1959.5. Davis, SN and RJM, De Wiest, Hydrogeology, John Wiley & Sons, 1966.6. Driscoll, FG, Ground Water and Wells, Johnson Division, Minnesota, USA, 1986.7. Theis, CV, The Relation between the Lowering of the Piezometric Surface and the Rate and Dura-tion of Discharge of a Well Using Ground Water Storage, Trans. American Geophysical Union,1932.8. Cooper, HH, (Jr.) and CE Jacob, A Generalized Graphical Method for Evaluating FormationConstants and Summarizing Well Field History, Trans. American Geophysical Union, 1946.9. Boulton, NS, The Drawdown of Water Table Under Non-Steady Conditions Near a Pumped Wellin an Unconfined Formation, Proc. of Inst. of Civil Engineering, London, 1953.10. Ray, RG, Aerial Photographs in Geologic Interpretations and Mapping, USGS Professional Paper373, 1960.11. Pluhowski, EJ, Hydrologic Interpretations based on Infrared Imagery of Long Island, New York,USGS Water Supply Paper 2009 – B, 1972.12. Avery, TE, Interpretation of Aerial Photographs, Burgess Publishing Co., USA, 1969.13. Collett, LS, Remote Sensing Geophysical Applications to Hydrology, Proc. 7th Hydrology Sympo-sium, Naional Research Council of Canada, 1969.14. Zohdy, AAR, GP Eaton and DR Mabey, Application of Surface Geophysics to Ground Water Inves-tigations, USGS Techniques for Water Resources Investigations, 1974.15. Jakosky, J, Exploration Geophysics, Trija Publishing Co., USA, 1950.16. Shrama, HD, and AS Chawla, Manual on Ground Water and Tubewells, CBIP Technical ReportNo. 18, New Delhi, 1977.17. Walton, WC, Ground Water Resources Evaluation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1970.18. Peterson, JS, C Rohwer and ML Albertson, Effect of Well Screen on Flow into Wells, Trans.ASCE, 1955.19. Ahrens, T, Basic Considerations of Well Design, Water Well Journal, 1970.

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5.1. CANALSA conveyance subsystem for irrigation includes open channels through earth or rock formation,flumes constructed in partially excavated sections or above ground, pipe lines installed eitherbelow or above the ground surface, and tunnels drilled through high topographic obstructions.Irrigation conduits of a typical gravity project are usually open channels through earth or rockformations. These are called canals.A canal is defined as an artificial channel constructed on the ground to carry water froma river or another canal or a reservoir to the fields. Usually, canals have a trapezoidal cross-section. Canals can be classified in many ways.Based on the nature of source of supply, a canal can be either a permanent or aninundation canal. A permanent canal has a continuous source of water supply. Such canals arealso called perennial canals. An inundation canal draws its supplies from a river only duringthe high stages of the river. Such canals do not have any headworks for diversion of riverwater to the canal, but are provided with a canal head regulator.Depending on their function, canals can also be classified as: (i) irrigation, (ii) navigation,(iii) power, and (iv) feeder canals. Anirrigation canal carries water from its source to agriculturalfields. Canals used for transport of goods are known as navigation canals. Power canals areused to carry water for generation of hydroelectricity. A feeder canal feeds two or more canals.A canal can serve more than one function. The slope of an irrigation canal is generallyless than the ground slope in the head reaches of the canal and, hence, vertical falls have oftento be constructed. Power houses may be constructed at these falls to generate power and, thus,irrigation canals can be used for power generation also.Similarly, irrigation canals can also be utilised for the transportation of goods and serveas navigation canals. Inland navigation forms a cheap means of transportation of goods and,hence, must be developed. However, in India, inland navigation has developed only to a limitedextent. This is mainly due to the fact that irrigation canals generally take their supplies fromalluvial rivers and, as such, must flow with sufficient velocity to prevent siltation of the canal.Such velocities make upstream navigation very difficult. Besides, the canals are generallyaligned on the watershed1 so that water may reach the fields on both sides by flow. Thisalignment may not be suitable for navigation which requires the canal to pass through theareas in the vicinity of industries.CANAL IRRIGATION51 Watershed is the dividing line between the catchment areas of two drains (seeSec. 5.3.2.)dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 165165

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 166166 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGAn irrigation canal system consists of canals of different sizes and capacities (Fig. 5.1).Accordingly, the canals are also classified as: (i) main canal, (ii) branch canal, (iii) majordistributary, (iv) minor distributary, and (v) watercourse.(B)MajMainMinMajMinMajMajBMinMinMainMajBMajMinMinMinMinMinMinMajMaj(B)(B)MajMajMinBMinMajMajBBoundaries ofG.C.A.WatershedB - BranchesMaj - Major distributariesMin - Minor distributariesRiverRiverFig. 5.1 Layout of an irrigation canal networkThe main canal takes its supplies directly from the river through the head regulatorand acts as a feeder canal supplying water to branch canals and major distributaries. Usually,direct irrigation is not carried out from the main canal.Branch canals (also called ‘branches’) take their supplies from the main canal. Branchcanals generally carry a discharge higher than 5 m3/s and act as feeder canals for major andminor distributaries. Large branches are rarely used for direct irrigation. However, outletsare provided on smaller branches for direct irrigation.Major distributaries (also called ‘distributaries’ or rajbaha) carry 0.25 to 5 m3/s ofdischarge. These distributaries take their supplies generally from the branch canal and

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 167CANAL IRRIGATION 167sometimes from the main canal. The distributaries feed either watercourses through outletsor minor distributaries.Minor distributaries (also called ‘minors’) are small canals which carry a discharge lessthan 0.25 m3/s and feed the watercourses for irrigation. They generally take their suppliesfrom major distributaries or branch canals and rarely from the main canals.A watercourse is a small channel which takes its supplies from an irrigation channel(generally distributaries) through an outlet and carries water to the various parts of the areato be irrigated through the outlet.5.2. COMMAND AREASGross command area (or GCA) is the total area which can be economically irrigated from anirrigation system without considering the limitation on the quantity of available water. Itincludes the area which is, otherwise, uncultivable. For example, ponds and residential areasare uncultivable areas of gross command area. An irrigation canal system lies in a doab (i.e.,the area between two drainages), and can economically irrigate the doab. It is, obviously,uneconomical to use the irrigation system to irrigate across the two drainages. Thus, theboundaries of the gross command of an irrigation canal system is fixed by the drainages oneither side of the irrigation canal system.The area of the cultivable land in the gross command of an irrigation system is calledculturable command area(CCA) and includes all land of the gross command on which cultivationis possible. At any given time, however, all the cultivable land may not be actually undercultivation. Therefore, sometimes the CCA is divided into two categories: cultivated CCA andcultivable but not cultivated CCA.Intensity of irrigation is defined as the percentage ofCCA which is proposed to be annuallyirrigated. Till recently, no irrigation system was designed to irrigate all of its culturablecommand every year. This practice reduces the harmful effects of over-irrigation such aswaterlogging and malaria. Also, due to the limitations on the quantity of available water, it ispreferred to provide protection against famine in large areas rather than to provide intensiveirrigation of a smaller area. The intensity of irrigation varied between 40 per cent to 60 percent till recently. This needs to be raised to the range of 100 per cent to 180 per cent by cultivatingparts of CCA for more than one crop in a year and through improved management of theexisting system. Future projects should be planned for annual intensities of 100 per cent to180 per cent depending on the availability of total water resources and land characteristics.The culturable command area multiplied by the intensity of irrigation (in fraction) givesthe actual area to be irrigated. The water requirements of the controlling crops of two cropseasons may be quite different. As such, the area to be irrigated should be calculated for eachcrop season separately to determine the water requirements.5.3. PLANNING OF AN IRRIGATION CANAL SYSTEMPlanning of an irrigation canal project includes the determination of: (i) canal alignment, and(ii) the water demand. The first step in the planning of an irrigation canal project is to carryout a preliminary survey to establish the feasibility or otherwise of a proposal. Once thefeasibility of the proposal has been established, a detailed survey of the area is carried out and,

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 168168 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGthereafter, the alignment of the canal is fixed. The water demand of the canal is, then, workedout.5.3.1. Preliminary SurveyTo determine the feasibility of a proposal of extending canal irrigation to a new area, informationon all such factors which influence irrigation development is collected during the preliminary(or reconnaissance) survey. During this survey all these factors are observed or enquired fromthe local people. Whenever necessary, some quick measurements are also made.The information on the following features of the area are to be collected:(i) Type of soil,(ii) Topography of the area,(iii) Crops of the area,(iv) Rainfall in the area,(v) Water table elevations in the area,(vi) Existing irrigation facilities, and(vii) General outlook of the cultivators with respect to cultivation and irrigation.The type of soil is judged by visual observations and by making enquiries from the localpeople. The influence of the soil properties on the fertility and waterholding capacity has alreadybeen discussed in Chapter 3.For a good layout of the canal system, the command area should be free from too manyundulations. This requirement arises from the fact that a canal system is essentially a gravityflow system. However, the land must have sufficient longitudinal and cross slopes for thechannels to be silt-free. During the preliminary survey, the topography of the area is judged byvisual inspection only.Water demand after the completion of an irrigation project would depend upon the cropsbeing grown in the area. The cropping pattern would certainly change due to the introductionof irrigation, and the possible cropping patterns should be discussed with the farmers of thearea.The existing records of rain gauge stations of the area would enable the estimation ofthe normal rainfall in the area as well as the probability of less than normal rainfall in thearea. This information is, obviously, useful in determining the desirability of an irrigationproject in the area.Water table elevation can be determined by measuring the depth of water surface in awell from the ground with the help of a measuring tape. Water table elevation fluctuatesconsiderably and information on this should be collected from the residents of the area andchecked by measurements. Higher water table elevations in an area generally indicate goodrainfall in the area as well as good soil moisture condition. Under such conditions, the demandfor irrigation would be less and introduction of canal irrigation may cause the water table torise up to the root zone of the crops. The land is then said to be waterlogged and the productivityof such land reduces considerably. Waterlogged land increases the incidence of malaria in theaffected area. Thus, areas with higher water table elevation are not suitable for canal irrigation.Because of limited financial and hydrological resources, an irrigation project should beconsidered only for such areas where maximum need arises. Areas with an extensive network

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 169CANAL IRRIGATION 169of ponds and well systems for irrigation should be given low priority for the introduction ofcanal irrigation.The success or failure of an otherwise good irrigation system would depend upon theattitudes of the farmers of the area. Enlightened and hard-working cultivators would quicklyadapt themselves to irrigated cultivation to derive maximum benefits by making use of improvedvarieties of seeds and cultivation practices. On the other hand, conservative farmers will haveto be educated so that they can appreciate and adopt new irrigated cultivation practices.The information collected during preliminary survey should be carefully examined todetermine the feasibility or otherwise of introducing canal irrigation system in the area. If theresult of the preliminary survey is favourable, more detailed surveys would be carried out andadditional data collected.5.3.2. Detailed SurveyThe preparation of plans for a large canal project is simplified in a developed area because ofthe availability of settlement maps (also called shajra maps having scale of 16 inches to a milei.e., 1/3960 ≅ 1/4000) and revenue records in respect of each of the villages of the area. Thesettlement maps show the boundaries and assigned numbers of all the fields of the area, locationof residential areas, culturable and barren land, wells, ponds, and other features of the area.Usually for every village there is one settlement (or shajra) map which is prepared on a pieceof cloth. These maps and the revenue records together give information on total land area,cultivated area, crop-wise cultivated area and the area irrigated by the existing ponds andwells.With the help of settlement maps of all the villages in a doab, a drawing indicatingdistinguishing features, such as courses of well-defined drainages of the area, is prepared. Onthis drawing are then marked the contours and other topographical details not available onthe settlement maps but required for the planning of a canal irrigation project. Contours aremarked after carrying out ‘levelling’ survey of the area.The details obtained from the settlement maps should also be updated in respect ofdevelopments such as new roads, additional cultivated area due to dried-up ponds, and so on.In an undeveloped (or unsettled) area, however, the settlement maps may not be available andthe plans for the canal irrigation project will be prepared by carrying out engineering surveyof the area.One of the most important details from the point of view of canal irrigation is thewatershed which must be marked on the above drawing. Watershedis the dividing line betweenthe catchment areas of two drains and is obtained by joining the points of highest elevation onsuccessive cross-sections taken between any two streams or drains. Just as there would be themain watershed between two major streams of an area, there would be subsidiary watershedsbetween any tributary and the main stream or between any two adjacent tributaries.5.4. ALIGNMENT OF IRRIGATION CANALSDesirable locations for irrigation canals on any gravity project, their cross-sectional designsand construction costs are governed mainly by topographic and geologic conditions alongdifferent routes of the cultivable lands. Main canals must convey water to the higher elevationsof the cultivable area. Branch canals and distributaries convey water to different parts of theirrigable areas.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 170170 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGOn projects where land slopes are relatively flat and uniform, it is advantageous toalign channels on the watershed of the areas to be irrigated. The natural limits of command ofsuch irrigation channels would be the drainages on either side of the channel. Aligning a canal(main, branch as well as distributary) on the watershed ensures gravity irrigation on bothsides of the canal. Besides, the drainage flows away from the watershed and, hence, no drainagecan cross a canal aligned on the watershed. Thus, a canal aligned on the watershed saves thecost of construction of cross-drainage structures. However, the main canal has to be taken offfrom a river which is the lowest point in the cross-section, and this canal must mount thewatershed in as short a distance as possible. Ground slope in the head reaches of a canal ismuch higher than the required canal bed slope and, hence, the canal needs only a short distanceto mount the watershed. This can be illustrated by Fig. 5.2 in which the main canal takes offfrom a river at P and mounts the watershed at Q. Let the canal bed level at P be 400 m and theelevation of the highest point N along the section MNP be 410 m. Assuming that the groundslope is 1 m per km, the distance of the point Q (395 m) on the watershed from N would be 15km. If the required canal bed slope is 25 cm per km, the length PQ of the canal would be 20 km.BetweenP andQ, the canal would cross small streams and, hence, construction of cross-drainagestructures would be necessary for this length. In fact, the alignment PQ is influencedconsiderably by the need of providing suitable locations for the cross-drainage structures. Theexact location of Q would be determined by trial so that the alignmentPQ results in an economicas well as efficient system. Further, on the watershed side of the canal PQ, the ground ishigher than the ground on the valley side (i.e., the river side). Therefore, this part of the canalcan irrigate only on one side (i.e., the river side) of the canal.WatershedN (410)MQP (400)R1(395)RiverCanalRiverRWatershedFig. 5.2 Head reach of a main canal in plains

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 171CANAL IRRIGATION 171Once a canal has reached the watershed, it is generally kept on the watershed, except incertain situations, such as the looping watershed at R in Fig. 5.2. In an effort to keep the canalalignment straight, the canal may have to leave the watershed near R. The area between thecanal and the watershed in the region R can be irrigated by a distributary which takes off at R1and follows the watershed. Also, in the region R, the canal may cross some small streams and,hence, some cross-drainage structures may have to be constructed. If watershed is passingthrough villages or towns, the canal may have to leave the watershed for some distance.In hilly areas, the conditions are vastly different compared to those of plains. Riversflow in valleys well below the watershed or ridge, and it may not be economically feasible totake the channel on the watershed. In such situations, contour channels (Fig. 5.3) areconstructed. Contour channels follow a contour while maintaining the required longitudinalslope. It continues like this and as river slopes are much steeper than the required canal bedslope the canal encompasses more and more area between itself and the river. It should benoted that the more fertile areas in the hills are located at lower levels only.25002450240023502300230023502400RiverCanal24502500Fig. 5.3 Alignment of main canal in hillsIn order to finalise the channel network for a canal irrigation project, trial alignmentsof channels are marked on the map prepared during the detailed survey. A large-scale map isrequired to work out the details of individual channels. However, a small-scale map depictingthe entire command of the irrigation project is also desirable. The alignments marked on themap are transferred on the field and adjusted wherever necessary. These adjustments aretransferred on the map as well. The alignment on the field is marked by small masonry pillarsat every 200 metres. The centre line on top of these pillars coincides with the exact alignment.In between the adjacent pillars, a small trench, excavated in the ground, marks the alignment.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 172172 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING5.5. CURVES IN CANALSBecause of economic and other considerations, the canal alignment does not remain straightall through the length of the canal, and curves or bends have to be provided. The curves causedisturbed flow conditions resulting in eddies or cross currents which increase the losses. In acurved channel portion, the water surface is not level in the transverse direction. There is aslight drop in the water surface at the inner edge of the curve and a slight rise at the outeredge of the curve. This results in slight increase in the velocity at the inner edge and slightdecrease in the velocity at the outer edge. As a result of this, the low-velocity fluid particlesnear the bed move to the inner bank and the high-velocity fluid particles near the surfacegradually cross to the outer bank. The cross currents tend to cause erosion along the outerbank. The changes in the velocity on account of cross currents depend on the approach flowcondition and the characteristics of the curve. When separate curves follow in close succession,either in the same direction or in the reversed direction, the velocity changes become stillmore complicated.Therefore, wherever possible, curves in channels excavated through loose soil should beavoided. If it is unavoidable, the curves should have a long radius of curvature. The permissibleminimum radius of curvature for a channel curve depends on the type of channel, dimensionsof cross-section, velocities during full-capacity operations, earth formation along channelalignment and dangers of erosion along the paths of curved channel. In general, the permissibleminimum radius of curvature is shorter for flumes or lined canals than earth canals, shorterfor small cross-sections than for large cross-sections, shorter for low velocities than for highvelocities, and shorter for tight soils than for loose soils. Table 5.1 indicates the values ofminimum radii of channel curves for different channel capacities.Table 5.1 Radius of curvature for channel curves (1)Channel capacity (m3/s) Minimum radius of curvature (metres)Less than 0.3 1000.3 to 3.0 1500.3 to 15.0 30015.0 to 30.0 60030.0 to 85.0 900More than 85 15005.6. DUTY OF WATERFor proper planning of a canal system, the designer has to first decide the ‘duty of water’ in thelocality under consideration. Duty is defined as the area irrigated by a unit discharge of waterflowing continuously for the duration of the base period of a crop. The base period of a crop isthe time duration between the first watering at the time of sowing and the last watering beforeharvesting the crop. Obviously, the base period of a crop is smaller than the crop period. Dutyis measured in hectares/m3/s. The duty of a canal depends on the crop, type of soil, irrigationand cultivation methods, climatic factors, and the channel conditions.By comparing the duty of a system with that of another system or by comparing it withthe corresponding figures of the past on the same system, one can have an idea about the

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 173CANAL IRRIGATION 173performance of the system. Larger areas can be irrigated if the duty of the irrigation system isimproved. Duty can be improved by the following measures:(i) The channel should not be in sandy soil and be as near the area to be irrigated aspossible so that the seepage losses are minimum. Wherever justified, the channelmay be lined.(ii) The channel should run with full supply discharge as per the scheduled program sothat farmers can draw the required amount of water in shorter duration and avoidthe tendency of unnecessary over irrigation.(iii) Proper maintenance of watercourses and outlet pipes will also help reduce losses,and thereby improve the duty.(iv) Volumetric assessment of water makes the farmer to use water economically. This is,however, more feasible in well irrigation.Well irrigation has higher duty than canal irrigation due to the fact that water is usedeconomically according to the needs. Open wells do not supply a fixed discharge and, hence,the average area irrigated from an open well is termed its duty.Between the head of the main canal and the outlet in the distributary, there are lossesdue to evaporation and percolation. As such, duty is different at different points of the canalsystem. The duty at the head of a canal system is less than that at an outlet or in the tail endregion of the canal. Duty is usually calculated for the head discharge of the canal. Duty calculatedon the basis of outlet discharge is called ‘outlet discharge factor’ or simply ‘outlet factor’ whichexcludes all losses in the canal system.5.7. CANAL LOSSESWhen water comes in contact with an earthen surface, whether artificial or natural, the surfaceabsorbs water. This absorbed water percolates deep into the ground and is the main cause ofthe loss of water carried by a canal. In addition, some canal water is also lost due to evaporation.The loss due to evaporation is about 10 per cent of the quantity lost due to seepage. The seepageloss varies with the type of the material through which the canal runs. Obviously, the loss isgreater in coarse sand and gravel, less in loam, and still less in clay soil. If the canal carriessilt-laden water, the pores of the soil are sealed in course of time and the canal seepage reduceswith time. In almost all cases, the seepage loss constitutes an important factor which must beaccounted for in determining the water requirements of a canal.Between the headworks of a canal and the watercourses, the loss of water on account ofseepage and evaporation is considerable. This loss may be of the order of 20 to 50 per cent ofwater diverted at the headworks depending upon the type of soil through which canal runsand the climatic conditions of the region.For the purpose of estimating the water requirements of a canal, the total loss due toevaporation and seepage, also known as conveyance loss, is expressed as m3/s per millionsquare metres of either wetted perimeter or the exposed water surface area. Conveyance losscan be calculated using the values given in Table 5.2. In UP, the total loss (due to seepage andevaporation) per million square metres of water surface varies from 2.5 m3/s for ordinary clayloam to 5.0 m3/s for sandy loam. The following empirical relation has also been found to givecomparable results (2).ql = (1/200) (B + h)2/3 (5.1)

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 174174 IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERINGTable 5.2 Conveyance losses in canals (1)Loss in m3/s per million squareMaterial metres of wetted perimeter (or watersurface)Impervious clay loam 0.88 to 1.24Medium clay loam underlaid with hard pan at 1.24 to 1.76depth of not over 0.60 to 0.90 m below bedOrdinary clay loam, silty soil or lava ash loam 1.76 to 2.65Gravelly or sandy clay loam, cemented gravel, 2.65 to 3.53sand and claySandy loam 3.53 to 5.29Loose sand 5.29 to 6.17Gravel sand 7.06 to 8.82Porous gravel soil 8.82 to 10.58Gravels 10.58 to 21.17In this relation, ql is the loss expressed in m3/s per kilometre length of canal and B andh are, respectively, canal bed width and depth of flow in metres.5.8. ESTIMATION OF DESIGN DISCHARGE OF A CANALThe amount of water needed for the growth of a crop during its entire crop-growing period isknown as the water requirement of the crop, and is measured in terms of depth of waterspread over the irrigated area. This requirement varies at different stages of the growth of theplant. The peak requirement must be obtained for the period of the keenest demand. One ofthe methods to decide the water requirement is on the basis of kor watering.When the plant is only a few centimetres high, it must be given its first watering, calledthe kor watering, in a limited period of time which is known as the kor period. If the plants donot receive water during the kor period, their growth is retarded and the crop yield reducesconsiderably. The kor watering depth and the kor period vary depending upon the crop and theclimatic factors of the region. In UP, the kor watering depth for wheat is 13.5 cm and the korperiod varies from 8 weeks in north-east UP (a relatively dry region) to 3 weeks in the hillyregion (which is relatively humid). For rice, the kor watering depth is 19 cm and the kor periodvaries from 2 to 3 weeks.If D represents the duty (measured in hectares/m3/s) then, by definition,1 m3/s of water flowing for b (i.e., base period in days) days irrigates D hectares.∴ 1 m3/s of water flowing for 1 day (i.e., 86400 m3 of water) irrigates D/b hectaresThis volume (i.e., 86400 m3) of water spread over D/b hectares gives the water depth, ∆.∴ ∆ =86400104( / )D b ×= 8.64 b/D (metres) (5.2)For the purpose of designing on the basis of the keenest demand (i.e., the kor periodrequirement) the base period b and the water depth ∆ are replaced by the kor period and korwater depth, respectively.

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dharmd:N-IengEgg5-1.pm5 175CANAL IRRIGATION 175Example 5.1 The culturable command area for a distributary channel is 10,000 hectares.The intensity of irrigation is 30 per cent for wheat and 15 per cent for rice. The kor period forwheat is 4 weeks, and for rice 3 weeks. Kor watering depths for wheat and rice are 135 mm and190 mm, respectively. Estimate the outlet discharge.Solution:Quantity Wheat RiceArea to be irrigated (hectares) 0.30 × 10,000 = 3000 0.15 × 10,000 = 1500Outer factor D = 8.64 b/∆8 64 4 70 135. ( ).×= 17928 64 3 70 19. ( ).×= 954.95(in hectares/m3/s)Outlet discharge (m3/s) 3000/1792 = 1.674 ≈ 1.7 1500/954.95 = 1.571 ≈ 1.6Since the water demands for wheat and rice are at different times, these are notcumulative. Therefore, the distributary channel should be designed for the larger of the twodischarges, viz., 1.7 m3/s. The above calculations exclude channel losses and the waterrequirement of other major crops during their kor period.The kor period for a given crop in a region depends on the duration during which thereis likelihood of the rainfall being smaller than the corresponding water requirement.Accordingly, the kor period is least in humid regions and more in dryer regions. The kor depthrequirement must be met within the kor period. As such, the channel capacity designed on thebasis of kor period would be large in humid regions and small in dry regions. Obviously, thismethod of determining the channel capacity is, therefore, not rational, and is not used inpractice.A more rational method to determine the channel capacity would be to compareevapotranspiration and corresponding effective rainfall for, say, 10-day (or 15-day) periods ofthe entire year and determine the water requirement for each of these perio